Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 6,652 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 101.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,652 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Norges Bank bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $444,205,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 118.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,957,000 after acquiring an additional 5,474,449 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $234,761,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in MetLife by 806.2% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,607,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,840 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in MetLife by 309.7% during the 1st quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,364,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,277 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $70.14 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.71 billion, a PE ratio of 38.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’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 completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife 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 transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.08.

MetLife 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.