Williamson Legacy Group LLC Buys 669 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Williamson Legacy Group LLC raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. Williamson Legacy Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Swedbank AB grew its position in MetLife by 5.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,499,000 after acquiring an additional 99,328 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth $205,000. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 107,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,173 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Affinity Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 23.2% during the third quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 3,576 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $86.16 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $59.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.65 and a 200-day moving average of $81.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. 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.