Groupama Asset Managment Has $46.44 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 33.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 569,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 142,572 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in MetLife were worth $46,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MET. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in MetLife by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,931,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $973,901,000 after buying an additional 158,107 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in 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 period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,663,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $463,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $80.32 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty 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.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.