Brokerages Set MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Target Price at $95.64

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $95.4167.

MET has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 target price on MetLife and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI set a $95.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $100.00 target price on MetLife in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 13.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,649,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in MetLife by 188.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 417,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,577,000 after acquiring an additional 272,619 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in MetLife by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,176,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,905,000 after purchasing an additional 96,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 256.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 62,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,161,000 after purchasing an additional 45,100 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $77.26 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.92 and a 200-day moving average of $78.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $50.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.77. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $87.39.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. MetLife’s revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.30%.

About MetLife

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.