Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 244.4% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $79.22 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $53.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.39. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

About MetLife

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.