MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Acquired by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 201,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,082 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $16,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 198.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 95.4% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in MetLife by 564.1% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Evercore ISI set a $97.00 price target on MetLife and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho started coverage on MetLife in a report on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research raised MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.08.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $79.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.77 and a 200-day moving average of $79.02. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $88.09.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.07. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 5.30%.The company had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.75%.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.