MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 88.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 72,470 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 678.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,000,000 after buying an additional 250,402 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,824,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,661,000 after purchasing an additional 293,925 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,304,000 after purchasing an additional 240,564 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 742,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,088,000 after purchasing an additional 86,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 50.0% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $71.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $71.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.57. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The company has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. MetLife’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.48%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MET shares. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 company 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.