15,387 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Purchased by Westpac Banking Corp

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp acquired 15,387 MetLife shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.99% of MET’s outstanding shares.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with MetLife receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $101.64. Recent targets range as high as $109.
• MetLife exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.43 in EPS versus a $2.30 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 10.5% year over year. The company also announced a $3 billion share-repurchase authorization and a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share.

Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 15,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in MetLife by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded MetLife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.64.

MetLife Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $94.44 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $100.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company's 50 day moving average is $92.41 and its 200 day moving average is $82.17. The company has a market cap of $60.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The firm's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 45.40%.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Trending Headlines about MetLife

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street Zen upgraded MetLife to a Buy rating, providing a favorable near-term sentiment catalyst for MetLife, Inc. NYSE: MET. MetLife Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Dowling & Partners issued a positive outlook for MetLife’s earnings, reinforcing expectations for continued operating strength. This view follows the company’s latest reported quarter, when earnings per share exceeded consensus estimates and revenue increased year over year. DOWLING & PARTN Issues Positive Outlook for MetLife Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: A review of life-insurance companies’ second-quarter results benchmarks MetLife NYSE: MET against its industry peers. The article may help investors assess relative performance, but the headline does not identify a new company-specific catalyst. Life Insurance Stocks Q2 Recap: Benchmarking MetLife
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles cover Bruno Mars’ concerts, schedules, weather, ticket availability and fan experience at MetLife Stadium. Although potentially relevant to the stadium’s venue business, MetLife, Inc. is an insurance and financial-services company; the stadium’s naming rights do not make these events a material direct driver of MET shares. Bruno Mars Opens Four Nights at MetLife Tonight

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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