Cwm LLC Has $826,000 Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Cwm LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,733 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $71.70 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $74.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.84 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.28.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.23.

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.