MetLife (NYSE:MET) Sets New 52-Week High at $77.06

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $77.06 and last traded at $76.99, with a volume of 358607 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

MetLife Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $53.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.