OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Decreases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora cut its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 60,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,428 shares during the quarter. MetLife comprises approximately 1.1% of OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 678.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,000,000 after buying an additional 250,402 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in MetLife by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,824,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,661,000 after purchasing an additional 293,925 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,304,000 after purchasing an additional 240,564 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 50.0% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 742,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,088,000 after purchasing an additional 86,091 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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 upped their price objective 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 raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Two equities research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.23.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET stock traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $70.06. The stock had a trading volume of 427,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,530,250. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.68. The stock has a market cap of $50.65 billion, a PE ratio of 37.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.95 and a 52-week high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MetLife Company 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.