Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $119.83 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,489,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 161,392 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $119,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth approximately $281,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych raised its position in shares of MetLife by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 2,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.5% during the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 272,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,879,000 after purchasing an additional 14,073 shares during the period. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 35.1% in the second quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $78.71 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.38. 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 $52.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group reduced their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.18.

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.