MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.23.

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $70.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $71.44 and its 200 day moving average is $67.19. The firm has a market cap of $50.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. Research analysts predict that MetLife will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.66%.

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.