Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Has $219,000 Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. decreased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 23.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of 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 can be accessed through this link. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.80. The stock had a trading volume of 167,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,527,074. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.68. The firm has a market cap of $50.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.04. 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 current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results 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 firm 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%. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MET shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.23.

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.