Mystic Asset Management Inc. Takes $988,000 Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in 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 worth $375,179,000 after acquiring an additional 68,579 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in MetLife by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after acquiring an additional 608,224 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,913,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,430,000 after acquiring an additional 30,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in MetLife by 76.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

MetLife Trading Up 2.3 %

MET opened at $82.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $56.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.45 and a 200-day moving average of $82.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05.

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%. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

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.