MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 140.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,682 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 792,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,921,000 after purchasing an additional 19,251 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 9,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $422,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:MET opened at $83.70 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $83.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.