Wealthspire Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,969 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 131.9% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $82.29 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.69. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. 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 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MET. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.58.

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.