MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Summit Trail Advisors LLC

Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,830 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MET. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 1.5% in 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 period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of MetLife by 16.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,274,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,096,000 after buying an additional 114,166 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in MetLife by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,239,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,744,000 after buying an additional 105,762 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock opened at $83.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.04 and a one year high of $89.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $83.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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 lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.08.

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.