Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Boosts Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,895 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in MetLife were worth $2,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $348,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 205,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,803,000 after purchasing an additional 5,774 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $605,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $841,000. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $9,651,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.08.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET traded down $2.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.93. 2,987,768 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,401,173. The stock has a market cap of $52.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.12 and a 200-day moving average of $81.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. MetLife's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved 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 reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife 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.