Trust Co. of Vermont Has $259,000 Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in MetLife were worth $259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in MetLife by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 374.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $86.83 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.47. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.61 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.92.

MetLife Company Profile

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.