Copperwynd Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Copperwynd Financial LLC raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Copperwynd Financial LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MET. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $80.62 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.44 and a 200-day moving average of $82.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

MetLife Company 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.