IFP Advisors Inc Raises Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 59.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,679 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in MetLife were worth $1,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional grew its position in MetLife by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,960,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 48,101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,043 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,746,000 after purchasing an additional 105,823 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,074,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $259,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET traded up $2.11 on Friday, hitting $86.16. The stock had a trading volume of 4,838,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,579,201. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-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 market capitalization of $58.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.65 and a 200-day moving average of $81.91.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (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 analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MET. 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, February 12th. 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 began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from 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.