MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 47.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,481 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,285 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in MetLife were worth $7,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter worth about $2,960,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,074,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 48,101.4% during 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 buying an additional 105,823 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.46.

MetLife Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $86.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.39. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.61 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $59.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

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.

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