Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires Shares of 3,466,339 MetLife, Inc. $MET

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,466,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $293,287,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.54% of MetLife at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in MetLife by 205.8% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 1.0%

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

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.MetLife's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.40%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.64.

Key Headlines Impacting 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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