Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Purchases 16,647 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 107%, acquiring an additional 16,647 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total to 32,208 shares.
• Several institutional investors have modified their holdings of MetLife, with 94.99% of the company's stock owned by such entities, highlighting strong institutional interest.
• MetLife's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $94.64, according to analysts' reports.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 107.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,647 shares during the period. MetLife makes up 0.9% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter worth $26,000. Motco grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 105.5% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 652.3% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MET. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.64.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $82.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.86. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

MetLife Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MET? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.