Stevens Capital Management LP Sells 18,602 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Stevens Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 49.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,602 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 118.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,957,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,449 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in MetLife by 806.2% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,607,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,840 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $52,752,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 54.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,126,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,790,000 after acquiring an additional 746,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,669,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two investment 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 at MetLife

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 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 company insiders.

MetLife Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:MET traded down $1.48 on Friday, reaching $70.42. 5,586,911 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,532,651. The business has a fifty day moving average of $71.41 and a 200-day moving average of $67.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.95 and a 52-week high of $74.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. As a group, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.