BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Grows Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 79.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 762,291 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $142,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MET. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 30,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in MetLife by 53.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 16,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 5,772 shares in the last quarter. Payden & Rygel grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 24.6% in the third quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 340,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,117,000 after purchasing an additional 67,400 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 398,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,847,000 after buying an additional 10,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth $1,074,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.0 %

MetLife stock opened at $82.60 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $82.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.84. The company has a market cap of $57.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.14 and a 1-year high of $86.94.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.46.

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.