Moors & Cabot Inc. Boosts Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $77.69 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.48 and its 200-day moving average is $82.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. 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 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

MetLife Company 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.