MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Purchases 86,091 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 742,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,091 shares during the period. MetLife comprises about 1.9% of MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.10% of MetLife worth $49,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $444,205,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in MetLife by 118.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,957,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,449 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $234,761,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in MetLife by 806.2% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,607,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in MetLife by 309.7% during the 1st quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,364,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $74.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,591,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,267,839. The company has a market capitalization of $53.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.93. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.23.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Company 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.