Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 25,838 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 126,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,838 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $9,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in MetLife by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in MetLife by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 3,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in MetLife by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 148,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,738,000 after acquiring an additional 49,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in MetLife by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 291,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,044,000 after acquiring an additional 4,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Mizuho set a $95.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.31.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $84.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.00. The firm has a market cap of $54.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $85.29.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

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.