Private Management Group Inc. Acquires 743 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 338,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $22,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eley Financial Management Inc grew its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% during the third quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 16,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 3.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 0.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.23.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.23. The company had a trading volume of 2,106,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,531,897. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.95 and a 12 month high of $74.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.02.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.545 dividend. 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 yield of 3.02%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 113.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.