MetLife (NYSE:MET) Hits New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $92.27 and last traded at $91.7570, with a volume of 3125492 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.46.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.69.

MetLife Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $58.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $84.18 and its 200-day moving average is $78.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MET. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after purchasing an additional 7,805,814 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in MetLife by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 53,659,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,419,947,000 after purchasing an additional 477,783 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in MetLife by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,572,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,035,622,000 after purchasing an additional 180,683 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,071,000 after buying an additional 2,211,315 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $639,986,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.