MetLife (NYSE:MET) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $79.92.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock opened at $69.88 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11. MetLife has a 1-year low of $56.13 and a 1-year high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. MetLife’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that MetLife will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 114.7% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% 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.