MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stake Lifted by Deutsche Bank AG

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in MetLife, acquiring an additional 56,978 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 2.63 million shares, valued at $211.37 million.
• Analysts have mixed outlooks for MetLife with target price increases from Barclays and JPMorgan Chase, while some reports, such as from Wall Street Zen, downgraded the stock to a "hold" rating.
• MetLife announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.0%, alongside a $3.00 billion share buyback plan indicating management's confidence in the stock's value.

Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,632,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 56,978 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.39% of MetLife worth $211,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of MetLife by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,427,000 after purchasing an additional 6,213,923 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of MetLife by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,862,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $711,597,000 after purchasing an additional 36,177 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in MetLife by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $577,434,000 after acquiring an additional 958,458 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in MetLife by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,434,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $526,869,000 after acquiring an additional 290,734 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,113,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $418,661,000 after acquiring an additional 564,383 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $1.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.56. 3,656,843 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,436,330. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.02 and a 200-day moving average of $78.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. MetLife's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 38.47%.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $98.00 target price (down previously from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.00.

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.