Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Grows Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 53.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,772 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MetLife by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after buying an additional 988,666 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in MetLife by 5.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,993,000 after purchasing an additional 269,246 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $226,358,000 after purchasing an additional 100,782 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.8% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 2,063,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,845,000 after purchasing an additional 16,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 99,328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $86.60 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.02. The firm has a market cap of $59.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.81 and a 1-year high of $86.94.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

About MetLife

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.