Choate Investment Advisors Has $394,000 Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Choate Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in MetLife were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $82.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $56.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $83.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.