California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,185,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 56,024 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in MetLife were worth $78,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MET. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.23.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $72.72 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.95 and a 12 month high of $74.68. 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 (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.66%.

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.