Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $358,000 Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. 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 report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $70.52 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $71.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.40. The stock has a market cap of $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is 71.48%.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.