DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Purchases 12,506 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,351,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,506 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.20% of MetLife worth $105,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.69. 2,331,769 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,356,598. The company has a market cap of $52.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm's fifty day moving average is $78.98 and its 200 day moving average is $80.00.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.58.

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.