MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) to Issue Dividend Increase - $0.57 Per Share

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 22nd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of 0.5675 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This is a 4.1% increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55.

MetLife has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 11 years. MetLife has a payout ratio of 21.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect MetLife to earn $10.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.18 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.6%.

MetLife Stock Down 0.8 %

MetLife stock traded down $0.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.23. 3,030,347 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,409,154. MetLife has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $51.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company's 50-day moving average is $78.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.80.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, analysts predict that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in MetLife stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.46.

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.