MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

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

Several other analysts have also issued reports on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.17.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,300,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,402,354. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.08. MetLife has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85.

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 business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC increased its position in MetLife by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% 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.