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

Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1,110.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,116 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 187.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,680,000 after buying an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $444,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price objective on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

MetLife Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $93.27 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $86.70 and its 200 day moving average is $79.36. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $94.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $60.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.