Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 18,788 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 670,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,788 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $55,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 33,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in MetLife by 5.5% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 22,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 3.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $701,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $336,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.62.

MetLife Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE MET opened at $81.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $56.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.72. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.61 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

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.