Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Purchases 27,754 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 136.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 27,754 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in MetLife were worth $3,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.46.

MetLife Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:MET traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.26. 3,673,883 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,417,594. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

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.