MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.23.

A number of research analysts have commented on MET shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 118.1% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,957,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,449 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $558,460,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,440,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $468,087,000 after buying an additional 276,364 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 0.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,829,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,763,000 after acquiring an additional 17,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,090,000 after acquiring an additional 700,788 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $70.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $71.66 and its 200-day moving average is $67.45. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.83. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.48%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.