Norden Group LLC Purchases 1,530 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 244.4% during the third 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 last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 131.9% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 2.5 %

MET opened at $86.16 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.99. 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 released its 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.