Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 59,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,975 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $83.10 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

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.