MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,410 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $10,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.17.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7 %

MetLife stock opened at $81.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.11. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve 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 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

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.