D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 814 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 131.9% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated 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 on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.58.

MetLife Trading Down 2.1 %

MET opened at $81.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average is $83.41 and its 200 day moving average is $81.44.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share 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, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

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.