Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 3,531 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 958,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,531 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in MetLife were worth $78,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.85.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $68.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.41 and a 200 day moving average of $82.90. 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 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.