Sowell Financial Services LLC Has $4.35 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,179,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of MetLife by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after buying an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,913,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,430,000 after buying an additional 30,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after buying an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

MetLife Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MET opened at $82.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.28. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

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.