MetLife (NYSE:MET) Hits New 1-Year High at $74.75

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $74.75 and last traded at $74.73, with a volume of 543738 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MET. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.23.

MetLife Trading Up 1.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $53.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.11. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.49.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

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.