Dorato Capital Management Takes $557,000 Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 3.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 2,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.9% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $70.74 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $83.85. The company has a market cap of $46.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.74.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s payout ratio is 48.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho set a $100.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “moderate buy” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.42.

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.