Allianz SE Purchases Shares of 108,964 MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $722,727,000 after buying an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $375,179,000 after buying an additional 68,579 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $347,735,000 after acquiring an additional 608,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,913,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $320,430,000 after acquiring an additional 30,187 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased 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 reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.85.

MetLife Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $1.18 on Wednesday, reaching $82.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,463,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,274,623. The company has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $83.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.01.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.