IFP Advisors Inc Has $1.25 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 59.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,679 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in MetLife by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,499,000 after buying an additional 99,328 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in MetLife by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,037,000 after buying an additional 6,833 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth about $220,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 177.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen upped their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays dropped 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.58.

MetLife Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $82.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.70. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

MetLife 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.