MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eley Financial Management Inc grew its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% during the third quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 16,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.6% in the third quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 61,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,083,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MET. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MET opened at $72.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $52.58 billion, a PE ratio of 39.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.06. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 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.