Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 3,557 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 137.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,557 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in MetLife were worth $504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 244.4% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 131.9% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 374.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 177.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.92.

MetLife Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $86.83 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.61 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.54. The company has a market cap of $60.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

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.