Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $120.26 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,622,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,527 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of MetLife worth $120,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.23.

MetLife Stock Up 0.2 %

MetLife stock opened at $70.21 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.13 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.20. The company has a market cap of $49.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.