Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Trims Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI decreased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 33.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 102,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 52,074 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in MetLife were worth $8,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 187.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $404,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its position in shares of MetLife by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 5,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Barclays set a $90.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $102.00 price objective on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 price objective on shares of MetLife and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $97.00 target price on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.27.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $75.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.51 and its 200 day moving average is $78.82. The stock has a market cap of $49.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $87.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.75%.

MetLife Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.