Bleakley Financial Group LLC Acquires 595 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 131.9% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 374.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $83.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.71. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.02 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $57.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 5.27%. On average, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.17.

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.