Stratos Investment Management LLC Invests $239,000 in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Stratos Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 26,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 944,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,293,000 after acquiring an additional 21,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,274,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,096,000 after acquiring an additional 114,166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $84.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $58.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.65 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $83.96 and its 200-day moving average is $80.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 5.27%. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.17.

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.