MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 244.4% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 131.9% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 374.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.08.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $83.24 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.04 and a 12-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 company has a 50-day moving average of $83.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.93. The stock has a market cap of $57.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

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.