Meritage Portfolio Management Cuts Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 36,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 338 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in MetLife by 10.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 4.1% during the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.5% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 17,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its position in MetLife by 1.7% in the third quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional grew its position in shares of MetLife by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE MET traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $71.90. 2,866,882 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,506,329. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.95 and a 12 month high of $74.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a PE ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04.

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 company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. As a group, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MET. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company 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 upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.23.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the 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 sale, 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. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.