Austin Private Wealth LLC Acquires 170 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in MetLife in the third quarter worth $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $74.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.88 and its 200 day moving average is $65.88. The company has a market cap of $53.58 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $74.39.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.23.

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.