Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 15.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 101,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,617 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $8,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after purchasing an additional 988,666 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in MetLife by 5.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,993,000 after acquiring an additional 269,246 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,358,000 after acquiring an additional 100,782 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.8% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 2,063,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,845,000 after acquiring an additional 16,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of MetLife by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,499,000 after purchasing an additional 99,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.46.

MetLife Trading Up 0.9 %

MetLife stock opened at $87.36 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.18. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.81 and a 52-week high of $87.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $60.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.05.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

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.