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

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $94.1818.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $72.62 on Wednesday. MetLife has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $85.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $47.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $77.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.84.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 48.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 12.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its position in shares of MetLife by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in MetLife by 1.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,572,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,035,622,000 after purchasing an additional 180,683 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 22.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $756,104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

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.