West Oak Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5,985.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,452 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 12,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its position in MetLife by 0.8% during the third 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. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 2.0% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MET. TD Cowen boosted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.00.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $2.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $80.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,814,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,099,501. The company has a market cap of $55.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.87. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.61 and a 12-month high of $89.05.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.95%.

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.