MetLife (NYSE:MET) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.17.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.20 on Friday. MetLife has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $51.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.89 and a 200 day moving average of $81.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Company Profile

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.