Wright Investors Service Inc. Lowers Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lessened its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,388 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 678.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,000,000 after buying an additional 250,402 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in MetLife by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,824,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,661,000 after purchasing an additional 293,925 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in MetLife by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,304,000 after purchasing an additional 240,564 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in MetLife by 50.0% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its position in MetLife by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 742,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,088,000 after purchasing an additional 86,091 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MetLife 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 transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:MET traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $69.98. 514,656 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,532,211. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.04. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.68.

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

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.