MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stock Holdings Lifted by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 94.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,877 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in MetLife by 1.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,179,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in MetLife by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,913,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,430,000 after purchasing an additional 30,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in MetLife by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $83.02 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.57. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

MetLife 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.