Raymond James upgraded shares of Metlife Inc (NYSE:MET) from a market perform rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning, The Fly reports. The brokerage currently has $56.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MET. Vetr lowered Metlife from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $52.74 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Zacks Investment Research lowered Metlife from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered Metlife from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank reissued a buy rating and set a $59.00 price objective (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Metlife in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Piper Jaffray reissued a neutral rating and set a $57.00 price objective (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Metlife in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $56.28.

Shares of Metlife (NYSE:MET) traded down 2.69% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.00. The stock had a trading volume of 6,069,950 shares. The stock has a market cap of $47.80 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33. Metlife has a 1-year low of $40.77 and a 1-year high of $58.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $46.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.01.

Metlife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.14. The firm earned $17.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.77 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. Analysts forecast that Metlife will post $5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, Director Kenton J. Sicchitano sold 9,503 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.78, for a total transaction of $482,562.34. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,368,368.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria R. Morris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.60, for a total value of $212,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,517,315. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

A number of hedge funds and institutional investors have made changes to their positions in the stock. Simplex Trading increased its position in shares of Metlife by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Simplex Trading now owns 1,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Company acquired a new position in shares of Metlife during the fourth quarter worth about $277,000. Hollencrest Securities increased its position in shares of Metlife by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Hollencrest Securities now owns 6,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Banced Corp increased its position in shares of Metlife by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Banced Corp now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Asset Management increased its position in shares of Metlife by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management now owns 6,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter.

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) is a provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. The Company’s segments include Retail; Group, Voluntary & Worksite Benefits, and Corporate Benefit Funding. Its three geographic segments are Latin America (collectively, the Americas); Asia, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). In addition, MetLife’s Corporate & Other includes MetLife Home Loans LLC (MLHL), the surviving, non-bank entity of the merger of MetLife Bank, National Association (MetLife Bank) with and into MLHL, and other business activities. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, it operates in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The Company‘s businesses in the Americas offer a range of protection products and services.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:MET

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