Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Grows Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 525,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,727 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.08% of MetLife worth $42,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 131.9% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 374.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.46.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7 %

MET stock traded down $0.57 on Friday, reaching $86.19. 1,937,046 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,429,244. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $64.61 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $59.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.87.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's payout ratio is 43.95%.

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.