MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $96.4615.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho set a $95.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after purchasing an additional 7,805,814 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in MetLife by 133.5% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,098,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $219,136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 105.3% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,563 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $1.45 on Tuesday, hitting $91.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 462,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,765,579. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.11 and a 200-day moving average of $78.31. The company has a market capitalization of $59.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $92.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that MetLife will post 9.98 EPS for the current 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 $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.93%.

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.