MetLife (NYSE:MET) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $89.56 and last traded at $89.4470, with a volume of 115042 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Evercore set a $96.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.31.

MetLife Stock Down 0.4%

The firm has a market cap of $56.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.22 and a 200-day moving average of $77.58.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 81.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 93,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,618,000 after buying an additional 41,951 shares during the period. DV Trading LLC increased its position in MetLife by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in MetLife by 3,007.7% during the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth $250,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter valued at $3,925,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

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.