MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,818 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Davis R M Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $79.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 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.