Atala Financial Inc Purchases New Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Davis R M Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 3.8 %

MetLife stock opened at $80.62 on Friday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. 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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

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.