MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Barclays

Barclays reiterated their overweight rating on shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $71.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

MET has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of MetLife from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $72.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of MetLife from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $75.45.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $62.51 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.97 and a 200-day moving average of $59.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. MetLife has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $77.36.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 19.14%. The business’s revenue was down 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in MetLife by 41.6% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 116,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,759,000 after purchasing an additional 34,248 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.8% in the second quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.6% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Leo Brokerage LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 7.7% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 148,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,601,000 after acquiring an additional 10,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.14% 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 five segments: U.S.; 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.