MetLife (NYSE:MET) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $97.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen raised their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.46.

MetLife Trading Up 1.2 %

MetLife stock opened at $86.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $60.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 244.4% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 374.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.