Interchange Capital Partners LLC Takes $224,000 Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Interchange Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MET. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of 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 stock has a market capitalization of $57.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.52 and a 200-day moving average of $82.73.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

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.