Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Buys New Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in MetLife during the third quarter worth about $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,378,000 after purchasing an additional 762,291 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 256.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 107.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 435,807 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $86.97 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.61 and a 52-week high of $89.05.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.46.

MetLife 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.