MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC lowered its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 35.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,382,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 773,811 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.21% of MetLife worth $113,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in MetLife by 13.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth $6,649,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of MetLife by 188.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 417,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,577,000 after purchasing an additional 272,619 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in MetLife by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,176,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,905,000 after buying an additional 96,523 shares during the period. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in MetLife by 21.9% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 137,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,363,000 after buying an additional 24,800 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays set a $90.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $100.00 target price on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.18.

MetLife Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of MET opened at $71.83 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $85.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.76.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.30%.

Key Headlines Impacting MetLife

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MetLife confirmed its previously announced Q1 2026 dividend on its Series A floating-rate preferred shares, $0.31501229 per share, signaling consistency in capital returns for preferred holders and helping support yield-sensitive investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: MetLife and partner Crow Holdings completed the sale/trade of 210 multifamily units in Tampa — an example of active portfolio management that can free capital or crystallize gains from real-estate holdings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: MetLife GCC leased ~75,000 sq ft in Noida’s Oxygen Business Park — a regional expansion/lease that speaks to business presence in India but is unlikely to move the stock materially in the near term. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: High-profile events at MetLife Stadium (temporary renaming/World Cup hosting coverage, ticket guides) increase brand visibility and venue revenue potential, but these items are peripheral to core insurance fundamentals. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent piece comparing MetLife’s stock performance to peers provides context for relative valuation and momentum; useful for investors but not a direct catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley published a pessimistic forecast for MET, which likely contributed to selling pressure and the intraday decline — analyst downgrades/price-target cuts are common drivers of short-term stock weakness. Article Title

About MetLife

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.