MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 42.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,462,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,060,099 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.20% of MetLife worth $96,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth about $303,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 10.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 6.3% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 33.1% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,191 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 2,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 47,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,997,000 after buying an additional 6,294 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MET shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was 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 corporate insiders.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET traded up $0.27 on Tuesday, reaching $72.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,106,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,531,897. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68. The stock has a market cap of $52.22 billion, a PE ratio of 39.45, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $71.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.94.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 113.66%.

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.