Ameriprise Financial Inc. Grows Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,746,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 352,395 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 1.18% of MetLife worth $640,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 33,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 3,352 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 16.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 195,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,112,000 after acquiring an additional 27,947 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 105.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695,563 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in MetLife by 1.2% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 1,711,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,967,000 after acquiring an additional 20,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Agricole S A bought a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $22,657,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE MET opened at $68.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $85.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.33.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.67.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.