Sei Investments Co. Raises Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 435,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,848 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $35,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of MetLife by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake 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 worth $722,727,000 after buying an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in MetLife by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in MetLife by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,559,000 after buying an additional 12,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $259,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Up 2.2 %

MET opened at $84.15 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.73.

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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

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.