Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the quarter. MetLife accounts for 1.1% of Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in 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 period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,862,000 after buying an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 79.1% in 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 buying an additional 762,291 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 256.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,209,000 after buying an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.58.

MetLife Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $81.26 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $83.38 and its 200 day moving average is $81.61. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

MetLife Company 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.