MetLife (NYSE:MET) Reaches New 52-Week High at $74.39

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $74.39 and last traded at $74.10, with a volume of 103585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.23.

MetLife Stock Up 0.2 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $69.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.57, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.03.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. Equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 113.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $1,092,000. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $258,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management grew its position in MetLife by 330.3% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 17,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% 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.