Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Raises Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 244.4% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $84.08 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $58.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.56 and a 200 day moving average of $81.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.58.

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.