Private Advisor Group LLC Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,227 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.19. The stock had a trading volume of 254,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,517,492. The firm has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.65. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $74.68.

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

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is 71.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.92.

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.