Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 776,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,723 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.11% of MetLife worth $63,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Swedbank AB increased 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 acquiring an additional 99,328 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 670,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,308,000 after purchasing an additional 18,788 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at $60,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.6% in the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 13,757 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 71.2% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.1 %

MET opened at $82.28 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $83.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.35. The company has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

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MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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