Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Sells 603 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 603 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 11,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966 shares during the period. Silver Lake Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC now owns 74,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,940,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $214,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,986 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MET shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. 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 note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.23.

MetLife Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,361,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,164,878. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.45. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The company has a market cap of $50.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 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 issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 71.48%.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at MetLife

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.