Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 356 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 356 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 11.4% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,260,000 after buying an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the first quarter worth about $225,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 179.7% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 540,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,957,000 after buying an additional 346,999 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 937.3% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 5,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 5,296 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 114.5% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $68.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.84 billion, a PE ratio of 37.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.66. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.23.

MetLife 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.