MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 44.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,980 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MET opened at $82.33 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.48 and a 200-day moving average of $82.67. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week 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.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted 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%. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

MetLife 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.