MetLife (NYSE:MET) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Mizuho

Mizuho upgraded shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

MET has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 target price on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.55.

MetLife Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MET opened at $82.46 on Monday. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $88.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.46 and its 200 day moving average is $78.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.76.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $12.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 5.30%.The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 42.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 198.2% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 790.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth $32,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 95.4% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.