MetLife (NYSE:MET) Hits New 52-Week Low at $56.43

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $56.43 and last traded at $57.01, with a volume of 853296 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $86.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. StockNews.com started coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.36.

MetLife Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $44.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.86 and its 200 day moving average is $69.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.19). MetLife had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 15.64%. The business had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.29 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 68.26%.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 11,345 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.96, for a total value of $816,386.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,782.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 11,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.96, for a total transaction of $816,386.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,782.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan M. Podlogar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.91, for a total transaction of $215,730.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,321,738.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,202 shares of company stock worth $1,234,849. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in MetLife by 3.9% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its position in MetLife by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 5.3% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in MetLife by 1.8% in the third quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in MetLife by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 88.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MetLife

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MetLife, Inc provides insurance and financial services to individual and institutional customers. It offers life insurance, annuities, automobile and homeowner’s insurance and retail banking services to individuals as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services.