MetLife (NYSE:MET) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on MET. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.62.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $82.75 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $83.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $64.61 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 7,837.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,124 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $91,771,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 22.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after acquiring an additional 988,666 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 79.1% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 762,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 256.6% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.