DGS Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

DGS Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 593 shares during the quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 12,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,115,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 5,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.23.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $68.93 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $48.95 and a one year high of $74.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.84 billion, a PE ratio of 37.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction 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 $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently 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.