Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Boosts Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 45.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in MetLife were worth $110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

MetLife Stock Down 4.6 %

MET stock opened at $79.19 on Monday. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.29 and a 200 day moving average of $82.94.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. 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.