InvesTrust Invests $7.69 Million in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

InvesTrust acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 94,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,691,000. MetLife makes up about 2.1% of InvesTrust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth approximately $91,771,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after acquiring an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in MetLife by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,378,000 after acquiring an additional 762,291 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 256.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in MetLife by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.23.

MetLife Trading Up 0.6 %

MetLife stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $82.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,193,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,563,641. The stock has a market cap of $57.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.81. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $64.61 and a one year high of $89.05.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.64%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

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.