MetLife (NYSE:MET) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $90.06 and last traded at $89.8990, with a volume of 3122601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho set a $95.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.62.

MetLife Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.20. The stock has a market cap of $57.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after buying an additional 7,805,814 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 133.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,098,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $219,136,000 after buying an additional 1,771,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 105.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,424,000 after buying an additional 1,695,563 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.