3,314 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Acquired by FineMark National Bank & Trust

FineMark National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $754,000. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 13,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,205 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 391,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,605,000 after purchasing an additional 17,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 633.9% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 334,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,017,000 after purchasing an additional 288,557 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET opened at $72.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.22 and its 200 day moving average is $68.78. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.38 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. 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, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.08.

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.