26,224 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Purchased by SummitTX Capital L.P.

SummitTX Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 26,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,855,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MET. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 803.5% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 667,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,212,000 after acquiring an additional 593,705 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its holdings in MetLife by 26.8% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 28,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,005,000 after acquiring an additional 5,987 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA boosted its holdings in MetLife by 21.7% in the first quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 98,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,979,000 after acquiring an additional 17,600 shares in the last quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at $311,000. Finally, Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE:MET opened at $97.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.77. The company has a market capitalization of $62.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.33 and a 1-year high of $97.69.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. MetLife’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

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.