MetLife (NYSE:MET) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

MetLife (NYSE:MET) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

MET has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen started coverage on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.46.

MetLife Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $87.77 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.05. MetLife has a one year low of $62.81 and a one year high of $87.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 10,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 15,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 138,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,236,000 after buying an additional 6,577 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co purchased a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at about $596,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.