Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 10,416 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 528,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,416 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of MetLife worth $43,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 21,875 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,965 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 31,661.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 21,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 21,213 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $749,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.82. The stock had a trading volume of 2,371,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,403,239. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average is $77.09 and its 200-day moving average is $81.22.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. MetLife's payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.69.

MetLife 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.