MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stake Lessened by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,120,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,630 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $173,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 90,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,430,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 3.8% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 8,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 199.6% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 10,969 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.8% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 31,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,604,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 191,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,824,000 after buying an additional 7,537 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $68.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $81.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MET. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.85.

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.