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

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $881,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 244.4% during the third 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. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 131.9% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in MetLife by 374.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MET. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.92.

MetLife Stock Down 1.3 %

MetLife stock opened at $85.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. 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 fifty-two week low of $64.61 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.78.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

About MetLife

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.