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

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.6364.

MET has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho set a $102.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 price target on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MET. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after buying an additional 7,805,814 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of MetLife by 0.9% during the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 53,659,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,419,947,000 after acquiring an additional 477,783 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,572,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,035,622,000 after acquiring an additional 180,683 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in MetLife by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth $756,104,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key MetLife News

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 adjusted EPS beat consensus and operating performance showed strength — MetLife reported stronger-than-expected adjusted earnings driven by higher volumes across key units. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management set multi-year targets: double‑digit adjusted EPS growth and a $25B free cash flow objective under the New Frontier strategy — investors see this as a credible roadmap for capital returns and earnings growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Investment returns and segment mix helped results — strong performance in Asia, Group Benefits and Retirement & Income Solutions (RIS) provided earnings tailwinds. Management highlighted these as engines of record EPS growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst reaction is largely supportive — recent notes and analyst commentary following the release show constructive views on the beat and the strategy outlook. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full call materials and transcripts are available for review — investors can dig into prepared remarks and the full Q&A for details on assumptions and risks. Read More. | Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management flagged macro labor dynamics — CFO Drew Matus commented there’s “no demand for labor,” a macro observation that could temper wage-driven premium growth but is not an immediate company‑specific headwind. Read More. | Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed some estimates and there were one‑off headwinds (Mexico VAT impact) that trimmed top‑line — this explains some caution beneath the beat and is a factor to watch in next-quarter guidance. Read More. | Read More.

MetLife Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE MET opened at $76.61 on Friday. MetLife has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $87.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.77.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The company’s revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.30%.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.