MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stock Holdings Boosted by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 16,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE MET opened at $86.16 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. 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 company has a market capitalization of $58.69 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.99.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

About MetLife

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.