89,676 MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,154,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 89,676 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $108,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth about $178,638,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,204,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 74,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,261,000 after purchasing an additional 12,378 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,683,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,182,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Evercore reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.44.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $100.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $103.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.82 and a 200-day moving average of $85.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%. MetLife’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to buy back $3 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Profile

MetLife, Inc (NYSE: MET) is a global financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, and employee benefits solutions to individuals, employers, and institutions. Its offerings include life insurance, dental and vision coverage, accident and disability insurance, annuities, retirement savings products, and related financial services.

Through its institutional and workplace businesses, MetLife helps employers provide benefits and retirement programs to their employees. The company also serves individual customers with protection and income products.