Bfsg LLC Buys New Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $235,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,754,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.8% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 21,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $1.60 on Thursday, reaching $71.12. 1,006,559 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,479,832. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The business’s 50-day moving average is $71.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released 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). The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.66%.

Insider Activity

In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related 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 transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.