Syon Capital LLC Increases Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Syon Capital LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 82.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,986 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were 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 owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Argus increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.08.

MetLife Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MET traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.55. 2,302,378 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,720,064. 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 has a market cap of $48.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.12. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.97 and a 52-week high of $74.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.66.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.91%.

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.