MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth $214,000. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of MetLife by 3.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 130,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,802,000 after buying an additional 3,964 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of MetLife by 5.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,499,000 after buying an additional 99,328 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 374.3% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 16.5% in the third quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 6,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $81.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $56.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.01. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.17.

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.