Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Grows Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 572,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,063 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.08% of MetLife worth $37,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.23.

MetLife Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Monday, reaching $71.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,817,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,551,424. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $52.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.94.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company's stock, 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.

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.