Sterling Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 746,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 302,502 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned about 0.11% of MetLife worth $61,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,091 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.46.

MetLife Trading Down 0.9 %

MET stock traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.08. 1,120,945 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,392,306. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities research analysts expect 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.