Summit Global Investments Grows Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Summit Global Investments increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,281 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in MetLife were worth $3,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 5,178 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 83,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,507,000 after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 83,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HTLF Bank bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $372,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus increased their target price on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.00.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,520,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,382,093. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $79.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.