Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Has $1.75 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 118.1% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,957,000 after acquiring an additional 5,474,449 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in MetLife by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,440,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $468,087,000 after purchasing an additional 276,364 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in MetLife by 0.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,829,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,763,000 after acquiring an additional 17,375 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,774,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,430,000 after buying an additional 22,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,724,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,327,000 after purchasing an additional 495,027 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife 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 transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MET. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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 price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.23.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $72.34. 775,969 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,497,558. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.28 and a 200 day moving average of $67.02. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. On average, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 113.66%.

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.