MetLife (NYSE:MET) Upgraded 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 Tuesday morning.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.46.

MetLife Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $82.60 on Tuesday. 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 has a 12-month low of $61.61 and a 12-month high of $86.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.43. The company has a market capitalization of $57.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.05.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.95%.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MET. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in MetLife during the first quarter worth $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 7,837.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,250,000 after buying an additional 1,115,124 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after acquiring an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,378,000 after acquiring an additional 762,291 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.