DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Boosts Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,351,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,506 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.20% of MetLife worth $105,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.29 on Thursday, hitting $78.53. The company had a trading volume of 635,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,427,260. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.93 and a 200-day moving average of $80.07. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The firm's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.58.

MetLife Company 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.