Avestar Capital LLC Buys 400 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 12,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 25,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.17.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:MET opened at $81.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $83.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.01.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders 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 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

MetLife 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.