MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,434,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 290,734 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in MetLife were worth $526,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.46.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $72.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 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’s 50-day moving average is $79.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.12.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

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.