Flputnam Investment Management Co. Purchases New Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $444,205,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 118.1% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,957,000 after acquiring an additional 5,474,449 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $234,761,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 806.2% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,607,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 309.7% in 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 buying an additional 1,031,277 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MET. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.23.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife 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 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 can be accessed through this link. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 insiders.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $69.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.04. 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 quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $71.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.70.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during 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%. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.