Convergence Investment Partners LLC Buys 553 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eley Financial Management Inc grew its position in MetLife by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 16,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 3.6% during the third quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 61,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,083,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

MetLife Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE MET traded down $1.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.42. The stock had a trading volume of 5,650,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,506,510. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.19. The company has a market cap of $50.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.48, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 113.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other MetLife 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 directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.