Choate Investment Advisors Has $394,000 Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Choate Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in MetLife were worth $394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,645 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in MetLife by 79.1% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,378,000 after acquiring an additional 762,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 256.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,209,000 after acquiring an additional 682,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MET. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

MetLife Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $82.23 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $56.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.45 and a 200-day moving average of $82.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

MetLife Company 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.