Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 44,341 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,338,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44,341 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $105,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 13.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,749,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,333,418,000 after buying an additional 7,578,199 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 53,659,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,419,947,000 after acquiring an additional 477,783 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,572,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,035,622,000 after purchasing an additional 180,683 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 9,672,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $796,685,000 after purchasing an additional 527,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,746,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $640,357,000 after purchasing an additional 352,395 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on MET shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Evercore set a $96.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.92.

MetLife Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $75.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.91. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $83.85. The company has a market cap of $49.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.74.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting MetLife

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on MET to $102, signaling greater analyst optimism about earnings power and valuation upside. UBS raises price target
• Positive Sentiment: MetLife Foundation announced over $6.5M in global grants to address community needs — a positive ESG/brand item that can support reputation and stakeholder goodwill. MetLife Foundation grants
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage-piece on MetLife’s deal with PineBridge and a push into private credit — this strategic shift could boost investment yields and recurring income but also raises illiquidity and credit-risk considerations for investors. PineBridge & private credit analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: MetLife Stadium will temporarily be renamed (e.g., “New York New Jersey Stadium”) for the FIFA World Cup due to FIFA sponsorship rules — a short-term reduction in visible MetLife branding during a high-profile event; PR impact is limited and temporary. Stadium name change explanation
• Neutral Sentiment: Local transit plans for the World Cup (partial Penn Station closures and commuter discounts) add event logistics uncertainty that could affect attendance patterns around stadium events but are unlikely to materially affect MetLife’s financials. Commuter discounts for Penn Station closure
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its MET price target to $90, introducing a bearish analyst view that could cap near-term upside and pressure sentiment among institutional holders. Wells Fargo cuts price target

MetLife 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.