Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Raises Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,861 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth 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 period. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in MetLife by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $91,771,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 256.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays cut their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $80.32 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.98. The firm 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.30 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.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.