MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $84.54.

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company.

MetLife Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $80.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.21 billion, a PE ratio of 27.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $81.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.5% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Company 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.