MML Investors Services LLC Purchases 7,568 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,568 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $13,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MET. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,663,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $463,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723,461 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $283,862,000 after buying an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in MetLife by 151.3% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,198,030 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,095,000 after buying an additional 721,344 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MET. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.46.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $73.06 on Wednesday. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.97. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $49.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

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 (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%. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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