MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.23.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays started coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

MetLife Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MET opened at $81.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $58.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $57.91 and a fifty-two week high of $82.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.12.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MET. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,193,000. Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 1.2% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 211,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,593 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,377,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth $707,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

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.