184,775 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 184,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,129,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 5.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $162,499,000 after buying an additional 99,328 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 107,634 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,878,000 after buying an additional 2,173 shares during the period. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 23.2% in the third quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 3,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 19.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth about $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE MET traded down $0.58 on Monday, hitting $85.60. 3,114,917 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,567,300. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.73 and a 200 day moving average of $82.08. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $58.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (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 the consensus estimate 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, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Company 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.