MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,651,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,799 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in MetLife were worth $135,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 13.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 90,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,430,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 3.8% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 8,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 199.6% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,358,000 after buying an additional 10,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 9.5 %

MET opened at $68.71 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.96.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current 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 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered 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 research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.85.

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.