Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Has $2.82 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp trimmed its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 686 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 118.1% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,957,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,449 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in MetLife by 3.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,440,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $468,087,000 after purchasing an additional 276,364 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in MetLife by 0.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,829,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,763,000 after purchasing an additional 17,375 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,774,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,430,000 after purchasing an additional 22,031 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 15.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,724,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,327,000 after purchasing an additional 495,027 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE MET traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $72.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,060,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,514,255. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The company has a market capitalization of $52.58 billion, a PE ratio of 39.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.02.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, 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 transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock 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 increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.23.

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.