Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 52,074 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 102,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 52,074 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in MetLife were worth $8,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the first quarter valued at about $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 187.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 21,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $404,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 18.6% in the second quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 5,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $75.78 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $87.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.82.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.07. MetLife had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The firm had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MET shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho set a $102.00 target price on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 target price on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $95.27.

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.