Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $61.10 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 746,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 302,502 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $61,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.00.

MetLife Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $70.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $48.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

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.