AIA Group Ltd Purchases 2,871 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

AIA Group Ltd grew its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,871 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 1.4 %

MET opened at $80.32 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.98.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

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.