GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 115.2% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 243,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,073,000 after purchasing an additional 130,093 shares in the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $243,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 55,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,691,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $464,000. Finally, Symmetry Investments LP bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $241,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.25.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $83.28 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.91 and a 52-week high of $84.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $76.12 and its 200 day moving average is $73.40. The company has a market cap of $59.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

MetLife 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.