Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Purchases 7,925 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,925 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in MetLife were worth $8,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 205.8% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 790.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.15.

MetLife Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $79.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $51.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $83.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

MetLife Company 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.