Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Sells 2,250 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL reduced its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,250 shares during the period. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $1,643,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,425,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 836.1% during the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 55,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,652,000 after acquiring an additional 49,331 shares in the last quarter. Orleans Capital Management Corp LA boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. Orleans Capital Management Corp LA now owns 17,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $13,319,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $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. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MetLife Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MET traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.55. 2,283,739 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,362,633. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.62. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.97 and a 1 year high of $74.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.12.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. MetLife’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MET. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Argus boosted their price target on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.08.

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.