Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Boosts Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 127.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,283 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in MetLife were worth $3,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 133,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,939,000 after acquiring an additional 2,410 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 25,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 7,628 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 761.7% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 4,060 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,892,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 106,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on MET shares. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.58.

MetLife Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE MET traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $81.02. The stock had a trading volume of 3,282,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,616,223. The company has a market capitalization of $56.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.35.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

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.