Allianz SE Invests $8.88 Million in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Allianz SE purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 108,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,882,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MET. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $79.19 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

About MetLife

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.