Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Has $9.32 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 113,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,055 shares during the quarter. MetLife comprises 1.6% of Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $9,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 119,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,884,000 after buying an additional 6,007 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 31.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 44.4% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the period. City Holding Co. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 39.5% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 8,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 15.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $83.58 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.02 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $57.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 20.01%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.17.

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.