Duality Advisers LP Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 57,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,797,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth $2,322,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $303,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 8,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.23.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET stock opened at $71.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.94. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $74.68. 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 firm has a market cap of $52.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’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 transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 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.