Diversified Trust Co. Has $2.47 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Diversified Trust Co. raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 276.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,945 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 790.0% in the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MET. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.67.

MetLife Trading Up 0.9%

MET opened at $69.82 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $74.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.74. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $85.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $45.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.76.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s payout ratio is 48.30%.

MetLife Profile

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.