Synovus Financial Corp Decreases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Synovus Financial Corp lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,110 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 180,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,753,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $437,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 123,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,097,000 after acquiring an additional 13,712 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 469,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,421,000 after purchasing an additional 15,114 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Trust Co bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,772,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:MET opened at $72.65 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.33. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $49.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.46.

About MetLife

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.