Blue Trust Inc. Buys 2,088 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.1% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 127,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,865 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 47,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $585,000. Brown Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth approximately $707,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,377,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 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. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $86.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.61 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.30. The stock has a market cap of $60.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

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.