AGF Management Ltd. Buys 21,491 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 269,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,491 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $22,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. CX Institutional boosted its stake in MetLife by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,568,000 after acquiring an additional 9,337 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $2,960,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth $1,074,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of MET opened at $78.56 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.41. The stock has a market cap of $53.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

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.