Bleakley Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MET. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its position in MetLife by 26.4% during the first quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc increased 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 valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its position in MetLife by 4.1% during the fourth 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related 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 transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’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 transaction of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $71.87 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.62 and a 200 day moving average of $66.46. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.95 and a 12 month high of $74.68. The firm has a market cap of $51.96 billion, a PE ratio of 39.27, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 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 firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MET. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.85.

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.