MetLife (NYSE:MET) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $86.00 to $92.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. MetLife traded as high as $85.44 and last traded at $85.03, with a volume of 41241 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $84.03.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.46.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,012,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in MetLife by 54.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,983,000 after purchasing an additional 131,538 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,053,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 2,313.7% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,772,000 after buying an additional 100,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP raised its position in MetLife by 38.3% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 30,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 8,440 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.62. The stock has a market cap of $59.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 58.76%.

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.