MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 403,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,250 shares during the period. MetLife comprises 0.9% of First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. First Horizon Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of MetLife worth $33,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 1.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,179,000 after acquiring an additional 68,579 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in MetLife by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after acquiring an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,274,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,096,000 after purchasing an additional 114,166 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in MetLife by 5.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,239,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,744,000 after purchasing an additional 105,762 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MET shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.58.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $81.02 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $56.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $83.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.44.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given 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 2.69%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 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.