Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 66,004 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 49.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,004 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $756,104,000. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $178,669,000. Amundi increased its holdings in MetLife by 40.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 4,507,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,265,000 after buying an additional 1,292,107 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its position in MetLife by 325.5% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,344,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028,554 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in MetLife by 1,028.2% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 856,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,912,000 after acquiring an additional 780,955 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MET opened at $81.19 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.76 and its 200 day moving average is $79.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $88.09. The company has a market capitalization of $53.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.76.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $12.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Wolfe Research upgraded MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Evercore ISI set a $97.00 target price on MetLife and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.83.

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.