StockNews.com Downgrades MetLife (NYSE:MET) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife (NYSE:METFree Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MET. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $87.25.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MetLife

MetLife Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:MET opened at $83.00 on Friday. MetLife has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $84.26. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $75.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:METGet 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 business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at about $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7,837.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,115,124 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in MetLife by 22.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after acquiring an additional 988,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 29.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,133,000 after acquiring an additional 485,811 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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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Analyst Recommendations for MetLife (NYSE:MET)

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