Allstate Corp Buys Shares of 17,606 MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,442,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MET. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $79.19 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.29 and a 200-day moving average of $82.94. The firm has a market cap of $53.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.