California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,185,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 56,024 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.16% of MetLife worth $78,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. 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 note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.23.

MetLife Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $72.72 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.06.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Analysts predict 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 issued a $0.545 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 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.