DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Raises Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,338,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,011 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in MetLife were worth $109,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in MetLife by 54.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,983,000 after buying an additional 131,538 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $1,053,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in MetLife by 38.3% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 30,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 8,440 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,346,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in MetLife by 53.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 618,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,848,000 after purchasing an additional 214,367 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays began coverage on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife Stock Down 2.3 %

MET stock opened at $82.39 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.81 and a 200-day moving average of $74.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $86.94.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

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.