MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $84.54.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $558,460,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after buying an additional 1,974,268 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in MetLife in the first quarter valued at $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7,837.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,124 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MetLife by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after acquiring an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.52 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. MetLife has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $79.34. The company has a market cap of $54.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

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.