Nykredit A S Acquires Shares of 2,111,310 MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S acquired 2.11 million MetLife shares worth approximately $178.6 million, giving it a 0.33% stake. Institutional investors collectively own nearly 95% of MetLife.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: 11 rate MetLife a Buy and one rates it a Hold, with a consensus price target of $102.77 versus the reported share price of $97.35.
• MetLife exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $2.43 and announced a $3 billion share-buyback authorization, alongside a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share.

Nykredit A S bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,111,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $178,638,000. Nykredit A S owned 0.33% of MetLife at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,683,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $14,182,000. Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in MetLife during the second quarter valued at $8,329,000. SWS Partners bought a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter worth $3,145,000. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth $1,169,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.77.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $97.35 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.84. The firm has a market cap of $62.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.33 and a 1-year high of $100.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. The company 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 revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.78 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc NYSE: MET is a global financial services company that provides insurance, employee benefits and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutions. Its offerings include life insurance, dental and vision insurance, disability coverage, accident and health insurance, annuities, and retirement products.

Through its employer-focused business, MetLife helps organizations provide benefits and financial protection to their employees. The company also offers group insurance, individual protection products and investment management services through MetLife Investment Management, which serves institutional investors and retirement plans.

Founded in 1868, MetLife serves customers in the United States and operates internationally across Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

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