B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Has $2.88 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 705 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MET opened at $81.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.01. The company has a market cap of $55.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

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.