Townsquare Capital LLC Acquires 13,712 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,712 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $10,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MET. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $722,727,000 after buying an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,663,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $463,701,000 after buying an additional 1,723,461 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in MetLife by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $283,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in MetLife by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $347,735,000 after acquiring an additional 608,224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $72.49. 2,739,216 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,404,801. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.19. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.46.

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.