Principle Wealth Partners LLC Invests $207,000 in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 235,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,847,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.0% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 241,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,181,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 17.8% in the third quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $369,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 10,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 1,876 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MET. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.23.

MetLife Stock Up 1.8 %

MetLife stock opened at $71.70 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.50 and a 200-day moving average of $67.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.84 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.66%.

MetLife 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.