MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by Mariner LLC

Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,758 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $12,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth approximately $701,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in MetLife by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 22,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock traded up $2.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $75.39. The stock had a trading volume of 493,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,400,082. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The stock's fifty day moving average is $78.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.97.

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 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%. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.46.

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.