Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,143 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of MetLife by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,499,000 after purchasing an additional 99,328 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 37.0% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth about $234,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in MetLife by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $80.62 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.44 and its 200 day moving average is $82.45. 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 company has a market cap of $54.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid 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 2.70%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

About MetLife

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.