MetLife (NYSE:MET) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

MetLife (NYSE:MET) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MET. 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. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.62.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,075,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,351,618. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.85. MetLife has a one year low of $64.61 and a one year high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $56.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 670,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,308,000 after purchasing an additional 18,788 shares during the period. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.1% in the third quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 33,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.5% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 22,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,874,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $701,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by 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.