MetLife (NYSE:MET) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

MET has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.00.

MetLife Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE MET opened at $82.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $64.61 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $57.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.87.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 131.9% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 374.3% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 177.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% 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.