MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Receives $77.23 Consensus PT from Analysts

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $78.08.

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th.

MetLife Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:MET opened at $73.61 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $70.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.24. MetLife has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $53.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 113.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MET. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in MetLife during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.