Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Invests $216,000 in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 2,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 1.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,179,000 after acquiring an additional 68,579 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in MetLife by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,913,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,430,000 after purchasing an additional 30,187 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of MetLife by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $79.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $53.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.83. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

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.