MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,107 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in MetLife were worth $3,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. CX Institutional boosted its position in MetLife by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,568,000 after acquiring an additional 9,337 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,559,000 after purchasing an additional 12,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in MetLife by 5.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 285,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,549,000 after buying an additional 15,251 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.62.

MetLife Trading Up 10.1 %

NYSE:MET traded up $6.92 on Wednesday, reaching $75.34. 7,865,776 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,392,647. The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.88 and a 200-day moving average of $82.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. As a group, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

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.