Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Purchases Shares of 3,485 MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $71.87 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.38. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $51.25 billion, a PE ratio of 39.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.03.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 113.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, 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.