MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Simplicity Solutions LLC

Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 26.4% during the first quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Eley Financial Management Inc boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the third quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 16,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $70.14 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $74.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.81 and a 200-day moving average of $66.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.