MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

MetLife (NYSE:MET) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.00.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $80.30 on Thursday. MetLife has a 12-month low of $64.61 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MET. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $91,771,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in MetLife by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,799,000 after purchasing an additional 988,666 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in MetLife by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,378,000 after purchasing an additional 762,291 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 256.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after acquiring an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% 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.