QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,572 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.9% during 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,960,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $8,746,000 after acquiring an additional 105,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,074,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MET stock traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $85.60. 3,114,917 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,567,300. The firm has a market cap of $58.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 0.65 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.73 and a 200 day moving average of $82.08.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

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 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 2.55%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife 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.