Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,249,000.
Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have weighed in on MET shares. UBS Group upped their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.17.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on MetLife
MetLife Trading Up 0.5%
NYSE:MET traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,643,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,375,192. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $78.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $53.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.86.
MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.
MetLife Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.
MetLife declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
About MetLife
(
Free Report)
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.
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