MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 104.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,101 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $1,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in 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. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $283,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 79.1% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $142,378,000 after purchasing an additional 762,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 256.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $82.28. 3,131,884 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,554,516. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.21. The company has a market cap of $56.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MET. Barclays cut their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.58.

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.