Danske Bank A S Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 374,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,695,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in MetLife by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,742,000 after acquiring an additional 46,469 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 714,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,712,000 after purchasing an additional 14,515 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $81,494,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 195.8% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 33,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 22,016 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 622,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,163,000 after acquiring an additional 13,657 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.64.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock opened at $95.12 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.17 and its 200-day moving average is $81.98. The company has a market cap of $61.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $100.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 45.40%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About MetLife

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.