Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 106,926 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,383,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 106,926 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $113,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 198.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 95.4% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 564.1% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group dropped their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI set a $97.00 price objective on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of MetLife from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, September 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $77.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.98. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $88.09. The stock has a market cap of $50.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. MetLife had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The business had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 42.75%.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.