ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Cuts Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. lessened its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 96.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,101,814 shares during the period. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,524,000 after buying an additional 117,545 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,091,000. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in MetLife by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,742,000 after purchasing an additional 46,469 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd grew its position in shares of MetLife by 93.5% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 33,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,777,000 after purchasing an additional 16,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 12.1% in the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 666,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,888,000 after purchasing an additional 71,781 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.62.

MetLife Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $86.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $89.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.08.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. MetLife’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 10 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

Trending Headlines about MetLife

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MetLife Stadium is hosting major World Cup activity, including packed matches, celebrity appearances, and heavy media coverage, which keeps the MetLife name in front of a global audience and may support brand awareness. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Local business activity around World Cup events at MetLife Stadium suggests strong demand tied to the venue, reinforcing the stadium’s role as a major event destination and potentially benefiting MetLife’s public profile. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say fewer people than expected are taking trains and buses to MetLife Stadium for a World Cup match, which may indicate softer-than-hoped transit traffic but does not directly affect MetLife’s insurance business. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles highlight criticism of MetLife Stadium’s turf and field conditions during World Cup play, which could create negative publicity around the MetLife name even though it is tied to the venue rather than the company’s core operations. Article Title

MetLife Company 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.