Dover Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Dover Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 19.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,083 shares during the period. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’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 approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’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 approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MET. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.23.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $1.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,650,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,506,510. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $71.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.22. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $48.95 and a one year high of $74.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $50.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 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 issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. 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 3.10%. 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.