55,498 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Purchased by Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 55,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,925,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 31.3% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 44,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,179,000 after acquiring an additional 10,712 shares during the period. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth approximately $344,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth approximately $382,000. Finally, Eley Financial Management Inc boosted its stake in MetLife by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 16,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Down 0.9%

MET opened at $96.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $97.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $88.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on MetLife in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

MetLife Company Profile

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.