2,128 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Bought by AJOVista LLC

AJOVista LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $141,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.23.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

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

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.52. The company had a trading volume of 3,361,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,164,878. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.03.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is 71.48%.

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

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.