MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Prossimo Advisors LLC

Prossimo Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. MetLife makes up 1.5% of Prossimo Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Prossimo Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife 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 directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MET. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group cut their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. 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 report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.85.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.25 on Friday, reaching $72.79. 924,689 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,506,318. The company has a market cap of $51.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.71. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.95 and a 12 month high of $74.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 71.48%.

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.