12,855 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Acquired by Leonteq Securities AG

Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,015,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after acquiring an additional 7,805,814 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in MetLife by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 53,659,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,419,947,000 after acquiring an additional 477,783 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in MetLife by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,572,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,035,622,000 after acquiring an additional 180,683 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 9,672,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $796,685,000 after acquiring an additional 527,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,746,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $640,357,000 after acquiring an additional 352,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.15.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $84.29 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $84.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.62. The firm has a market cap of $54.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

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.