MetLife (NYSE:MET) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $91.00 to $90.00. The stock had previously closed at $83.18, but opened at $76.57. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. MetLife shares last traded at $77.81, with a volume of 541,401 shares traded.

MET has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 374.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 177.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 602.5% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.59 and a 200 day moving average of $74.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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 net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

MetLife Company Profile

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.