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 report released on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.46.

MetLife Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $82.60 on Tuesday. MetLife has a 1 year low of $61.61 and a 1 year high of $86.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in MetLife by 5.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,993,000 after purchasing an additional 269,246 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,179,000 after buying an additional 68,579 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,358,000 after buying an additional 100,782 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MetLife

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.