Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 761.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,060 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MET. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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. TD Cowen boosted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.58.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET opened at $82.82 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.45 and a 200 day moving average of $81.26. 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 company has a market capitalization of $57.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

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.