11,342 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Acquired by Choreo LLC

Choreo LLC 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 Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $750,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MetLife news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET traded down $1.64 on Thursday, reaching $70.24. 5,845,894 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,561,742. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $50.09 billion, a PE ratio of 39.27, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $71.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.38. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.95 and a 52-week high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.23.

About MetLife

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.