MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.33.
Several research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. TheStreet cut MetLife from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MET. Echo Street Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth $285,000. Aquila Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Aquila Investment Management LLC now owns 54,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $220,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 13,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 600,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,474,000 after purchasing an additional 61,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.15% of the company’s stock.
MetLife Price Performance
MetLife (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $16.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.84 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 16.86%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.
MetLife Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 8th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 93.69%.
MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
About MetLife
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.
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