Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $4.51 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 44.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 16,980 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $4,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in MetLife by 5.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $162,499,000 after purchasing an additional 99,328 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth $1,074,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 44,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,647,000 after buying an additional 4,945 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 127.5% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 96,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,986,000 after acquiring an additional 54,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth about $8,643,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MET. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.58.

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MetLife Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MET traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $83.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,022,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,071,729. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company's 50 day moving average price is $83.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.80. The firm has a market cap of $56.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

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.