Comerica Bank Sells 16,352 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Comerica Bank lowered its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,352 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in MetLife were worth $14,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $6,649,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in MetLife by 8.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 96,523 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in MetLife by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,524,000 after acquiring an additional 117,545 shares in the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in MetLife by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 137,956 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,363,000 after acquiring an additional 24,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in MetLife by 256.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 62,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,161,000 after acquiring an additional 45,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.8%

MetLife stock opened at $78.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.74. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.33 and a 1-year high of $83.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $73.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife's payout ratio is 48.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on MetLife from $93.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings cut MetLife from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "moderate buy" rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Evercore set a $96.00 target price on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.38.

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.

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