Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires 17,727 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 525,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,727 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.08% of MetLife worth $42,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 79.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 68.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 56.7% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 117,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,263,000 after buying an additional 42,603 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 11.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,247,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,583,000 after acquiring an additional 132,982 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock opened at $86.82 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.61 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.82. 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 stock has a market cap of $60.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their price target on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.46.

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.