MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 45.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,260 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MET. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 678.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,000,000 after acquiring an additional 250,402 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of MetLife by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,824,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,661,000 after acquiring an additional 293,925 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,304,000 after purchasing an additional 240,564 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 742,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,088,000 after buying an additional 86,091 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.63 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,413,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,530,066. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $51.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $74.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.65.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.48%.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.92.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was 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 owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.