Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Has $297,000 Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after buying an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,378,000 after purchasing an additional 762,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $78,209,000 after acquiring an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $81.53 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $83.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $55.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities 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.com, the stock has an average 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.