Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,204,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,320 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.17% of MetLife worth $98,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 11,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 15,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $5,151,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $14,002,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in MetLife by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,651,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,261,000 after purchasing an additional 12,799 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.85.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $68.71 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 firm has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.41 and a 200-day moving average of $82.93.

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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 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.