Mystic Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 12,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MET. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,499,000 after purchasing an additional 99,328 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 5.2% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 266,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,966,000 after acquiring an additional 13,150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $82.23 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $56.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

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.