MetLife (NYSE:MET) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $92.27 and last traded at $91.7570, with a volume of 3125492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $95.00 price target on MetLife in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on MetLife in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $59.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $83.68 and its 200 day moving average is $78.43.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a $0.5925 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 45.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 55 North Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $276,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 26.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 2,614 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $348,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 9,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC raised its position in MetLife by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 22,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.