MetLife (NYSE:MET) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MET. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.77.

MetLife Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $96.74 on Friday. MetLife has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $100.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.77. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.18.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. On average, analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.78 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were paid a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 45.40%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas acquired a new position in MetLife in the second quarter worth $227,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 11.3% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 26,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after buying an additional 2,694 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 6.8% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 49,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,193,000 after buying an additional 3,164 shares during the last quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,914,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in MetLife by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,278,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,195,000 after acquiring an additional 30,067 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc (NYSE: MET) is a global financial services company that provides insurance, employee benefits and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutions. Its offerings include life insurance, dental and vision insurance, disability coverage, accident and health insurance, annuities, and retirement products.

Through its employer-focused business, MetLife helps organizations provide benefits and financial protection to their employees. The company also offers group insurance, individual protection products and investment management services through MetLife Investment Management, which serves institutional investors and retirement plans.

Founded in 1868, MetLife serves customers in the United States and operates internationally across Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.