MetLife (NYSE:MET) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $95.95 and last traded at $95.74, with a volume of 85856 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $94.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Evercore set a $96.00 price target on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

MetLife Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $87.27 and its 200 day moving average is $79.54. The company has a market cap of $61.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 12.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,805,814 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,211,315 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in MetLife by 133.5% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,098,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $219,136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in MetLife by 105.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,563 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

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.