Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Has $2.87 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP decreased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 47,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 517 shares during the quarter. MetLife accounts for about 1.3% of Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 13.8% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $660,000. Bartlett & Co. LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 5.3% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 132,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,292,000 after acquiring an additional 6,686 shares during the period. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.8% during the second quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 215,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,535,000 after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares in the last quarter. 88.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MetLife

In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 5,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.55, for a total transaction of $377,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,147 shares in the company, valued at $4,921,855.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other MetLife news, EVP Susan M. Podlogar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.91, for a total transaction of $215,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,321,738.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.55, for a total transaction of $377,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,921,855.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,401 shares of company stock worth $2,706,824. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MetLife Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MET traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.65. 114,611 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,539,844. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.41 and a 1 year high of $77.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $73.23 and its 200-day moving average is $68.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.03. MetLife had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 3.26%. The company had revenue of $23.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.89 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MET. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on MetLife from $77.00 to $84.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $78.00 in a report on Monday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Friday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.18.

About MetLife

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MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through five segments: U.S.; 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.