MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Shufro Rose & Co. LLC

Shufro Rose & Co. LLC lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,225 shares during the quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of 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 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.23.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock traded down $1.48 on Friday, reaching $70.42. 5,650,572 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,506,510. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.19. The stock has a market cap of $50.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.48, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. 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 twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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.

About MetLife

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.