Bessemer Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,120,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 48,630 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.31% of MetLife worth $173,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CX Institutional lifted its stake in MetLife by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,568,000 after acquiring an additional 9,337 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in MetLife by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,559,000 after buying an additional 12,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in MetLife by 5.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 285,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,549,000 after buying an additional 15,251 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $73.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 943,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,394,446. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business's 50-day moving average is $80.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.46. The company has a market capitalization of $49.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.46.

About MetLife

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.