Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Changes for MetLife (MET)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of MetLife (NYSE: MET) in the last few weeks:

  • 10/10/2024 – MetLife had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $86.00 to $92.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
  • 10/9/2024 – MetLife is now covered by analysts at TD Cowen. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock.
  • 10/4/2024 – MetLife was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
  • 10/2/2024 – MetLife had its price target raised by analysts at Piper Sandler from $85.00 to $92.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
  • 9/27/2024 – MetLife had its price target raised by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from $89.00 to $95.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
  • 9/26/2024 – MetLife was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
  • 9/10/2024 – MetLife was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
  • 9/4/2024 – MetLife is now covered by analysts at Barclays PLC. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7 %

MetLife stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $84.13. 1,687,566 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,302,567. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $59.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $86.94.

MetLife (NYSE:MET – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,612,000 after buying an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 7,837.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in MetLife by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,799,000 after buying an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,133,000 after buying an additional 485,811 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

See Also