DRW Securities LLC Purchases Shares of 24,841 MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 24,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,643,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,283,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,362,633. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.33 and a 200 day moving average of $69.62. The stock has a market cap of $48.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.12. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.97 and a 52-week high of $74.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. MetLife's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.08.

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.