MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Purchased by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd has increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 6.7%, owning a total of 134,784 shares worth approximately $10.84 million.
• Over 94% of MetLife's stock is currently held by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong interest from major financial entities.
• MetLife recently reported a quarterly earnings miss, with $2.02 EPS against a consensus estimate of $2.32, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,458 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in MetLife were worth $10,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Motco increased its holdings in MetLife by 105.5% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the first quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust increased its holdings in MetLife by 128.4% in the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.16. 8,848,968 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,039,976. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average is $78.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. MetLife's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 38.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler lowered MetLife from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.64.

MetLife 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.