Mather Group LLC. Grows Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $229,000. abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 944,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,293,000 after buying an additional 21,414 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,274,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,096,000 after buying an additional 114,166 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $279,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 115.0% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock opened at $84.92 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $58.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.65 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 5.27% and a return on equity of 20.01%. As a group, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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 $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MET. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.17.

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.