StockNews.com Upgrades MetLife (NYSE:MET) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $79.00.

MetLife Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $71.19 on Friday. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $71.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.