MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 272,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,065 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $18,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.5% in 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% in 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% in 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% in 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% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MetLife

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 transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, 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. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

MetLife Stock Up 1.5 %

MET opened at $69.95 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.95 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a market cap of $50.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.70.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted 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). MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current 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.