MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC cut its stake in MetLife by 19.5% in Q4, selling 37,971 shares and leaving it with 156,589 shares valued at $12.36 million.
• MetLife raised its quarterly dividend 4.4% to $0.5925 per share (annualized $2.37, ~3.0% yield), with a record date of May 12 and payment on June 9.
• MetLife beat earnings estimates with EPS of $2.49 vs. $2.34 and reported revenue of $52.44 billion (up 27.6% YoY); analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $93.38.

Vest Financial LLC reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 156,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 37,971 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $12,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after acquiring an additional 7,805,814 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 53,659,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,419,947,000 after purchasing an additional 477,783 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in MetLife by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,572,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,035,622,000 after purchasing an additional 180,683 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 9,672,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $796,685,000 after purchasing an additional 527,388 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,746,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $640,357,000 after buying an additional 352,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MetLife announced a higher quarterly dividend — $0.5925 per share (4.4% increase vs. prior quarter), with record date May 12 and payment June 9; management’s decision to raise the dividend and a ~3.0% indicated yield supports demand from income-focused investors and signals confidence in cash generation. MetLife Increases Common Stock Dividend by 4.4%
• Positive Sentiment: MetLife plans a $170M redevelopment of Chicago’s Water Tower Place — an active real‑estate move that points to asset monetization and opportunistic capital deployment in commercial property markets, which can boost long‑term investment returns for MetLife’s balance sheet. MetLife plots $170M Water Tower Place revamp as part of Mag Mile rebound
• Neutral Sentiment: MetLife polling shows strong employer interest in embedding guaranteed lifetime income options into workplace retirement plans — a potential long-term tailwind for MetLife’s annuities and retirement solutions, but adoption and regulatory timelines keep near‑term impact uncertain. Majority of Employers Support Embedding Guaranteed Lifetime Income Options into Workplace Retirement Plans, MetLife Poll Finds
• Neutral Sentiment: Press coverage of MetLife data showing large dental bills can wipe out savings raises brand visibility for MetLife’s benefits and supplemental insurance lines — helpful for marketing and product demand but not an immediate earnings driver. MetLife data shows dental bills can wipe savings fast

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $78.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $51.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $73.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.56. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $83.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. MetLife's revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. Equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.85 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MET shares. UBS Group raised their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "moderate buy" rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of MetLife from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.38.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.

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