Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Invests $48,000 in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $48,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 16,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,375,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $78.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.61 and a 200-day moving average of $82.41. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $53.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities 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 on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two 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, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.