MetLife (NYSE:MET) Reaches New 12-Month High at $79.63

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $79.63 and last traded at $79.58, with a volume of 1639365 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Argus lifted their price target on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.54.

MetLife Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $56.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. MetLife's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MET. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at $7,012,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in MetLife by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,983,000 after purchasing an additional 131,538 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in MetLife by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,005,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $132,641,000 after purchasing an additional 35,782 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,053,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2,313.7% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,772,000 after purchasing an additional 100,532 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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