Private Management Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 338,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $22,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale 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 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 transaction of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MET. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.23.

MetLife Trading Up 0.4 %

MetLife stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,106,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,531,897. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $74.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.22 billion, a PE ratio of 39.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.02.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.66%.

MetLife 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.