Barclays Begins Coverage on MetLife (NYSE:MET)

Barclays began coverage on shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $91.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $84.54.

MetLife Stock Down 3.3 %

MET stock opened at $74.08 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.32 and a 200-day moving average of $72.05. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $57.91 and a fifty-two week high of $79.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MET. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 13,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 456,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,213,000 after acquiring an additional 65,763 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 11,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in MetLife by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 7,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.