MetLife (NYSE:MET) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on MET. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.17.

MetLife Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE MET traded up $0.65 on Friday, reaching $78.64. The company had a trading volume of 852,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,598,534. The firm has a market cap of $52.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $76.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.04. 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 data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

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.