CoreFirst Bank & Trust Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MET. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $84.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.73.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued 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 was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.