Natixis Advisors LLC Has $23.76 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 290,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,814 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $23,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth $35,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. 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 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $82.23 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.45 and a 200-day moving average of $82.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $56.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.