MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 33.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 569,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 142,572 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment owned approximately 0.08% of MetLife worth $46,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in MetLife by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,663,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $463,701,000 after buying an additional 1,723,461 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after buying an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at $91,771,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $80.32 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve month high of $89.05. 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 50-day moving average of $83.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.98. The company has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:MET) last released its 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, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. 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 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.