MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $88.46.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays started coverage on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th.

MetLife Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $84.36 on Friday. MetLife has a 1-year low of $57.91 and a 1-year high of $86.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $79.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE increased its position in shares of MetLife by 77.7% during the third quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 9,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $769,000 after purchasing an additional 4,076 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth $203,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 3.1% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 2.0% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 76.0% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 7,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 3,434 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

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.