CENTRAL TRUST Co Increases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in MetLife were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank raised its stake in MetLife by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 119,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,884,000 after acquiring an additional 6,007 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 50.0% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 109,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,000,000 after purchasing an additional 36,367 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in MetLife by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 1,672 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in MetLife by 93.3% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after buying an additional 13,651 shares during the period. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $204,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MET shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock opened at $85.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.61 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.54. The company has a market capitalization of $59.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 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.