MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by RWA Wealth Partners LLC

RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MET. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 328,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,814,000 after purchasing an additional 14,582 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,882,000. Intrust Bank NA raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 34,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,789,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,442,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Up 1.1 %

MET stock opened at $81.18 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $55.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.01.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

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.