Procyon Advisors LLC Boosts Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 61,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,083,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Silverberg Bernstein Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $1,075,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 42,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $74.24. 206,658 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,737,170. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $69.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.82. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.95 and a 12 month high of $74.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.03. 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 (NYSE:MET) last posted 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 net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MetLife from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly 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. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.