MetLife (NYSE:MET) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $114.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. MetLife traded as high as $102.48 and last traded at $101.9460, with a volume of 96,665 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $101.18.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore restated a “mixed” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Monday, August 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $941,792,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 5.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,026,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,904,000 after acquiring an additional 336,794 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in MetLife in the second quarter worth $455,424,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in MetLife in the second quarter worth $326,904,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $97.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. MetLife’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.40%.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc (NYSE: MET) is a global financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, and employee benefits solutions to individuals, employers, and institutions. Its offerings include life insurance, dental and vision coverage, accident and disability insurance, annuities, retirement savings products, and related financial services.

Through its institutional and workplace businesses, MetLife helps employers provide benefits and retirement programs to their employees. The company also serves individual customers with protection and income products.