31,152 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Bought by GSA Capital Partners LLP

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 31,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,459,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in MetLife by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 790.0% in the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.15.

MetLife Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:MET opened at $81.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.08 and a 200-day moving average of $76.55. The company has a market cap of $52.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.33 and a one year high of $83.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

MetLife 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.