Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET stock opened at $79.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.39. The company has a market capitalization of $53.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price 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 twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

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.