Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 207 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $79.22 on Thursday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.39. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $53.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

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.