MetLife (NYSE:MET) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $83.63 and last traded at $83.45, with a volume of 257441 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays assumed coverage on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.25.

MetLife Trading Up 3.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $59.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.33.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 104,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,884,000 after buying an additional 4,857 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in MetLife by 565.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 94,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,260,000 after acquiring an additional 80,426 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in MetLife by 115.2% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 243,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,073,000 after acquiring an additional 130,093 shares during the last quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in MetLife by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Finally, Connectus Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Connectus Wealth LLC now owns 82,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,442,000 after purchasing an additional 22,158 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Company Profile

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.