MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stake Boosted by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 47.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 90,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,285 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $7,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the 3rd 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 valued at $375,179,000 after buying an additional 68,579 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in 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 valued at $347,735,000 after acquiring an additional 608,224 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in MetLife by 5.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,239,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,744,000 after acquiring an additional 105,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,209,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,208,000 after purchasing an additional 112,491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 increased their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.46.

MetLife Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MET opened at $86.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.39. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.61 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

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.