HB Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 53.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,135 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MET. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in MetLife by 5.4% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,179,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in MetLife by 5.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,239,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,744,000 after buying an additional 105,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,209,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,208,000 after buying an additional 112,491 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE MET opened at $86.83 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays upped their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.92.

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.