MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stock Holdings Lowered by DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 67.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,475 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.69.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $77.82 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $52.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.