MetLife (NYSE:MET) Hits New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock 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.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MET. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.69.

MetLife Trading Up 1.1%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MET. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in MetLife during the first quarter valued at $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 187.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth $444,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Company Profile

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.