MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in MetLife by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.3% in the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV lifted its stake in MetLife by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 1.0 %

MET opened at $77.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $79.34. The company has a market cap of $55.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.77.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

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.