MetLife (NYSE:MET) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

MetLife (NYSE:MET) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen started coverage on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.46.

MetLife Trading Up 0.5 %

MetLife stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.20. 2,429,532 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,332,913. MetLife has a 52-week low of $60.26 and a 52-week high of $86.94. The company has a market capitalization of $56.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.30.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MET. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $240,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in MetLife by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 107,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,942,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in MetLife by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 29,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,635 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in MetLife by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 30,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 8,440 shares during the period. 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.