MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

MET has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.46.

MetLife Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:MET opened at $83.33 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $57.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.56. MetLife has a 52-week low of $61.61 and a 52-week high of $86.94.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,612,000 after buying an additional 1,974,268 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in MetLife by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after purchasing an additional 988,666 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,993,000 after acquiring an additional 269,246 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,179,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,358,000 after acquiring an additional 100,782 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

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.