UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Acquires New Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp acquired 29,741 MetLife shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.52 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.99% of MetLife’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $101.07; recent targets range as high as $108.
• MetLife exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $2.43 in EPS versus $2.30 forecast, while announcing a $2.37 annual dividend and a new $3 billion share-repurchase authorization.

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 29,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,516,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price target on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.07.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $96.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $62.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $100.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $91.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. MetLife's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 45.40%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife 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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source