Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Decreases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,088,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,351,039 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 4.06% of MetLife worth $1,989,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET traded down $0.35 on Thursday, reaching $68.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,234,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,371,935. The firm has a market cap of $48.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.97 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.58.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MET? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.