MetLife (NYSE:MET) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

MET has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $79.00.

MetLife Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,697,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,540,620. The company’s 50 day moving average is $71.66 and its 200-day moving average is $67.50. MetLife has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $50.36 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.48%.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.