MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by Horizon Investments LLC

Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 23.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,744 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MET. 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $81.58 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

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.