MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 102,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 10.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 15.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 47,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 6,294 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 5.0% in the third quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 12,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 4.1% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 2.5% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 17,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $72.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,120,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,501,424. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.28 and its 200 day moving average is $67.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.34 billion, a PE ratio of 39.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.23.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.