Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Has $14.19 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 163,515 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,074 shares during the quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $14,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 79.1% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $142,378,000 after purchasing an additional 762,291 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 256.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 16.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 435,807 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock traded down $0.44 on Friday, hitting $86.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,992,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,244,892. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock's 50 day moving average is $84.06 and its 200-day moving average is $80.48. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.61 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $59.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock 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 set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.46.

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.