Norges Bank Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,924,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $730,716,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.29% of MetLife at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $83.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.80. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $56.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several research reports. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

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.