Stephens Inc. AR Increases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,179,000 after acquiring an additional 68,579 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in MetLife by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after buying an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,274,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,096,000 after buying an additional 114,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of MetLife by 5.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,239,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,744,000 after buying an additional 105,762 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $83.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.93. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.04 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.08.

MetLife 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.