Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $8.78 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in MetLife were worth $8,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after purchasing an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,358,000 after purchasing an additional 100,782 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,772,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,544,000 after purchasing an additional 108,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,133,000 after purchasing an additional 485,811 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $80.85 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.63. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $81.39. The firm has a market cap of $57.49 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 0.61 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 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.54.

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.