MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Purchased by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 201,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,082 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $16,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 6,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 29.9% during the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $79.37 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $88.09. The company has a market cap of $52.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.02.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 5.30%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho initiated coverage on MetLife in a report on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research raised MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 price objective on shares of MetLife and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.08.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.