Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Raises Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 25.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 39,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,940 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 244.4% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.1 %

MetLife stock opened at $82.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $56.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.21. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

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.