MML Investors Services LLC Increases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,568 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $13,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,931,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $973,901,000 after buying an additional 158,107 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in MetLife by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,434,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $526,869,000 after purchasing an additional 290,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,663,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $463,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723,461 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.46.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $75.95. The company had a trading volume of 662,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,398,438. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.78. The company has a market capitalization of $51.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.02%.

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.