AIA Group Ltd Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,871 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of MetLife by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after acquiring an additional 9,337 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after purchasing an additional 12,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of MET opened at $80.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.98. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MET shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

About MetLife

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.