EntryPoint Capital LLC Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $283,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $91,771,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 256.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,209,000 after acquiring an additional 682,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET traded down $3.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,414,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,269,064. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.89. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. MetLife's payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.58.

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.