MetLife (NYSE:MET) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

MET has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays increased their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.00.

MetLife Trading Down 3.0 %

MetLife stock opened at $80.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $55.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in MetLife by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth about $2,960,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,074,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 13.9% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 90,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,430,000 after buying an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in MetLife by 5.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 285,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,549,000 after acquiring an additional 15,251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.