Silver Lake Advisory LLC Grows Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Silver Lake Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. MetLife makes up about 2.8% of Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MET. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company 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 lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at MetLife

In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MetLife Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of MET stock traded down $3.21 on Thursday, reaching $68.67. 2,871,980 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,524,893. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68. 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 has a market capitalization of $48.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.27, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $71.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.38.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 113.66%.

About MetLife

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.