MetLife (NYSE:MET) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on MET. Barclays increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.21.

MetLife Stock Up 2.0%

MET opened at $96.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $92.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.32. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $100.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The business’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 45.40%.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8,029.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 73,771,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,241,789,000 after purchasing an additional 72,863,779 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after buying an additional 7,805,814 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 2,211,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $639,986,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.