13,229 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Bought by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,083,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in MetLife by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,499,000 after buying an additional 99,328 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 22.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,037,000 after acquiring an additional 6,833 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 177.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $82.46 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.48 and a 200 day moving average of $81.70. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MET shares. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.58.

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.