MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.1818.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Mizuho set a $100.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Trustmark Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 2,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 4.9% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 26,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $72.62 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $77.69 and its 200 day moving average is $78.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. MetLife has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $85.00. The firm has a market cap of $47.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.76.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The company had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 48.30%.

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.