Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $18.04 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 272,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 37,065 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in MetLife were worth $18,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in MetLife by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $225,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 540,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,957,000 after purchasing an additional 346,999 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in MetLife by 937.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 5,861 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 5,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in MetLife by 114.5% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the 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 owns 146,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were 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 owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:MET traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.11. 3,318,340 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,560,696. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.12 and a 200 day moving average of $66.77. The stock has a market cap of $51.41 billion, a PE ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.23.

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.