MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Parkside Financial Bank & Trust

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in MetLife were worth $185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 572,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,876,000 after purchasing an additional 21,063 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,797,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 29,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 8,393 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,126,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’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 value of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $72.72 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.66%.

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.