Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 10,573 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,573 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in MetLife by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 12.3% in the third quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 60,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,942,000 after acquiring an additional 6,569 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,323,000. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 10.9% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $735,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 price objective on shares of MetLife and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Mizuho set a $102.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.27.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $78.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.81.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.07. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 5.30%.The business had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 42.75%.

MetLife Company Profile

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.