11,303 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Bought by Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $747,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 248,966 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,464,000 after purchasing an additional 23,212 shares in the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 4,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 24,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,610,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $750,000. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,452,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,526,182. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.35. The company has a market cap of $51.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. 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 fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. On average, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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