StockNews.com Downgrades MetLife (NYSE:MET) to Hold

MetLife (NYSE:MET) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

MET has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.25.

MetLife Stock Up 3.4 %

MetLife stock opened at $84.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.33. MetLife has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $84.26.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 602.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 72.6% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.