Welch & Forbes LLC Has $371,000 Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,410 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the third quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 16,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in MetLife by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 61,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,083,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 0.6 %

MET traded up $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 572,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,520,908. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 71.48%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.92.

Insider Activity

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

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.