Jennison Associates LLC Has $96.72 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 42.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,462,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,060,099 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.20% of MetLife worth $96,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 118.1% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,957,000 after buying an additional 5,474,449 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 806.2% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,607,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,840 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,752,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 54.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,126,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,790,000 after buying an additional 746,643 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,669,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at MetLife

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 shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 completion of 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. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $71.96 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.19 and a 200-day moving average of $66.94. The firm has a market cap of $52.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.32, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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.