Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 83,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $303,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $256,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 272,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,036,000 after purchasing an additional 37,065 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 12,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. 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 research note on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.23.

Insider Transactions 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, 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 value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.7 %

MetLife stock opened at $71.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $71.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.77. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $74.68. The stock has a market cap of $51.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.