International Assets Investment Management LLC Raises Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 678.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 287,311 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 250,402 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $19,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc grew its position in MetLife by 1.0% during the third quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 16,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,028,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 57,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now 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 available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company's stock, 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 Down 1.2 %

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,712,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,601,976. The company has a market capitalization of $50.71 billion, a PE ratio of 38.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.49.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.07 billion. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

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.