MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,966 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the third quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 16,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 61,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,083,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction 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 owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.92.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $71.26 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.65.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.83. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.48%.

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.