Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $4.30 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 140.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 30,682 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its position in MetLife by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at $91,771,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $347,735,000 after buying an additional 608,224 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock traded down $3.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $79.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,414,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,269,064. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $83.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.89. 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 market capitalization of $53.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. MetLife's dividend 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.