Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,346,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,348 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $111,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,268 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at about $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 7,837.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,250,000 after buying an additional 1,115,124 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MetLife by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after buying an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,133,000 after buying an additional 485,811 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $82.02 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.16 and a 12 month high of $86.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.38. The stock has a market cap of $56.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.05.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.46.

MetLife 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.