MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $90.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on MET. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 8.9% during the third 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 during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,960,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,074,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 90,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,430,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $82.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.87. MetLife has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given 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 2.63%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.95%.

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.