MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 642 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Eley Financial Management Inc raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 16,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 4.1% in the 4th 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. raised its stake in MetLife by 3.6% in the 3rd 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 raised its stake in MetLife by 0.3% in the 4th 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 raised its stake in MetLife by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.23.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other 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 transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other MetLife 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 owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’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 value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $70.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $74.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.48, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.22.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its 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). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. 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.