Shufro Rose & Co. LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Shufro Rose & Co. LLC reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,225 shares during the period. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its stake in MetLife by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $397,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 25,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 5,629 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.23.

MetLife Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of MET stock traded down $1.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,650,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,506,510. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $50.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $71.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.19. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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 business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. On average, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is 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.