Westpac Banking Corp Acquires 14,116 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1,110.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,116 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MET. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

MetLife Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE MET opened at $93.27 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $94.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $86.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.36. The stock has a market cap of $60.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 45.93%.

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.