Simon Quick Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 131.9% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in MetLife by 374.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.46.

MetLife Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE MET opened at $86.82 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $60.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $83.68 and its 200 day moving average is $79.82.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.