KLCM Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 160 shares during the quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.2% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.17.

MetLife Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $81.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.08. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $56.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

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.