Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Has $619,000 Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in MetLife were worth $619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 1.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,179,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after buying an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after buying an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,274,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,096,000 after acquiring an additional 114,166 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in MetLife by 5.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,239,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,744,000 after acquiring an additional 105,762 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $81.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.41 and a 200-day moving average of $81.35. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.58.

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.