Navalign LLC Acquires 423 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Navalign LLC lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Navalign LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $444,205,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 5,474,449 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $234,761,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,429,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in MetLife by 309.7% during the first quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,364,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,881,000 after buying an additional 1,031,277 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.23.

MetLife Trading Up 0.3 %

MetLife stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $74.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,591,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,777,516. The stock has a market cap of $53.58 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.03. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $48.95 and a one year high of $74.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.88 and a 200-day moving average of $65.88.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. On average, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 113.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MetLife

In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, 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. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.