Investors Research Corp Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Investors Research Corp boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,053,000. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth $2,346,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 53.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 618,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,848,000 after purchasing an additional 214,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PGGM Investments grew its stake in MetLife by 1,803.4% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 69,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,899,000 after buying an additional 66,129 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. Barclays dropped their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET traded up $1.53 on Thursday, reaching $84.13. The company had a trading volume of 248,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,302,894. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.15 and a 1 year high of $86.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.84.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

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.