MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,270 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in MetLife were worth $7,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MET. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $52.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

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.