DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Sells 28,475 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 67.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,545 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,475 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings in MetLife were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 670,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,308,000 after purchasing an additional 18,788 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in MetLife by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 256,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,116,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its position in MetLife by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in MetLife by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 126,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,326,000 after purchasing an additional 6,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in MetLife by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 1.5%

MetLife stock traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $79.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,561,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,406,703. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.18. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $53.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 0.65 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 the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The company had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.69.

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.