Graney & King LLC Makes New $34,000 Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. boosted its position in MetLife by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.2% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 133 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 MET stock opened at $83.91 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.80. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

About MetLife

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.