Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $4.03 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 678.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,000,000 after purchasing an additional 250,402 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,824,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,661,000 after purchasing an additional 293,925 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,304,000 after buying an additional 240,564 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in MetLife by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 742,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,088,000 after buying an additional 86,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 2,952 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.23.

MetLife Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $71.96 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.94. The company has a market cap of $52.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.32, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other MetLife 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 value of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.