Brokerages Set MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) PT at $92.58

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $92.58.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MET. Barclays cut their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $82.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $83.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

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.