MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 71.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 89,694 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,402,000 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. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $71.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.09. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68. The company has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.29, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.04. 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 (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.66%.

Insider Activity

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.23.

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.