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

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $94.17.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:MET traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $79.37. The stock had a trading volume of 3,114,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,601,667. The company has a market capitalization of $53.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $76.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. MetLife's payout ratio is 36.91%.

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.