Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors Reduces Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 251 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors’ holdings in MetLife were worth $639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 5.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,499,000 after buying an additional 99,328 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 5.1% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,327,000 after buying an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at approximately $715,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 670,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,308,000 after buying an additional 18,788 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.4% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 11,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $82.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.72 and a 200 day moving average of $82.21.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS 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 predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MET. TD Cowen boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

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.