33,857 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Purchased by Heritage Trust Co

Heritage Trust Co purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,772,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MET. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in MetLife by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,559,000 after acquiring an additional 12,723 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $259,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $70.87 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $80.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.52. The company has a market cap of $48.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MET. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.00.

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.