MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Syon Capital LLC

Syon Capital LLC raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 82.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,986 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 118.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,957,000 after acquiring an additional 5,474,449 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in MetLife by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,440,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $468,087,000 after buying an additional 276,364 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in MetLife by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,829,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,763,000 after buying an additional 17,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,774,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,430,000 after buying an additional 22,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,724,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,327,000 after buying an additional 495,027 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following 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. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 2.1 %

MET stock traded down $1.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.42. The stock had a trading volume of 5,197,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,527,846. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.41 and a 200 day moving average of $67.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.29, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm 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 analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given 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 3.10%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.