MetLife (NYSE:MET) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MET. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Evercore set a $96.00 target price on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $59.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.43.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 55 North Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth $276,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 26.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 2,614 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $348,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in MetLife by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 9,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 22,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.