New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 927,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 135,640 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in MetLife were worth $61,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 572,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,876,000 after purchasing an additional 21,063 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $3,797,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 29,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 8,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $2,126,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MET. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.23.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MetLife Stock Up 0.4 %

MET opened at $72.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.02. 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 $52.22 billion, a PE ratio of 39.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.66%.

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.