Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Purchases 7,270 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 247,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,270 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $20,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $82.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $83.48 and its 200 day moving average is $82.60.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 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 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.