PFG Investments LLC Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

PFG Investments LLC acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $574,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $558,460,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in MetLife by 118.1% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,957,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,449 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in MetLife by 806.2% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,607,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,840 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $52,752,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in MetLife by 54.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,126,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,790,000 after purchasing an additional 746,643 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. 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 report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at MetLife

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’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 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. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE MET traded up $1.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $71.70. The stock had a trading volume of 3,966,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,534,419. The company has a market capitalization of $51.84 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.28. 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 12 month low of $48.95 and a 12 month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 113.66%.

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.