MetLife (NYSE:MET) Research Coverage Started at TD Cowen

TD Cowen started coverage on shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $97.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

MET has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Bank of America lowered their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an overweight rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $88.46.

MetLife Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $85.51 on Wednesday. MetLife has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $85.97. The stock has a market cap of $59.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $76.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. MetLife’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that MetLife will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.76%.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 12,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the third quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 8,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 3.5% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.3% in the second quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% 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 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.