Arkadios Wealth Advisors Purchases 7,607 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,607 shares during the quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in MetLife were worth $5,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MET. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 5.0% during the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 3,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in MetLife by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 62,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,353,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 21,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at about $1,116,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 21.4% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 39,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 6,930 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $86.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $60.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.29 and its 200 day moving average is $79.29.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MET. TD Cowen raised their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.92.

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.