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Honestly, if you've ever glanced at a stock ticker, you've probably seen MET flash by. It’s one of those "boring" blue chips that people sorta ignore until the market starts shaking. But the metlife stock quote history isn't just a list of numbers on a screen; it’s basically a roadmap of how the American financial heart has beaten since the turn of the millennium.
You see, MetLife didn't start out as a public company in the way we think of them today. For 85 years, it was a mutual company. That basically means the policyholders owned it. Then, April 4, 2000, happened. They demutualized, launched an IPO, and suddenly, the "Snoopy" company was a Wall Street player with a ticker and a daily price fluctuation.
The Wild Ride from 2000 to the Great Financial Crisis
When MetLife first hit the New York Stock Exchange, it opened around $13.65. If you’d bought then and held on, you’d be feeling pretty good today, but the journey was anything but smooth. By 2007, the stock had climbed significantly, reaching heights near $55.
Then 2008 arrived. It was brutal.
While MetLife didn't collapse like AIG, it definitely felt the heat. During the height of the crisis, the stock plummeted. By March 2009, shares were trading at a terrifying low of $10.13. That’s an 80% drop from its peak. Think about that for a second. One of the biggest insurers in the world was being priced like it might not make it. But it did. They actually raised about $2.3 billion in a stock offering in October 2008 just to keep the fortress strong.
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Dividends and the "Only" Split That Mattered
One thing you've gotta understand about MetLife is that it's a dividend story. They started paying out back in 2000 and haven't really looked back, even if the yield moves around. For a long time, the dividend was an annual thing. They’d pay once a year—usually around $0.74 per share between 2007 and 2012.
Then they shifted to quarterly payments in 2013, which investors generally prefer because, well, getting paid four times a year is better than once.
As for stock splits? There’s really only one major event to note. On August 7, 2017, MetLife completed a spinoff of its U.S. retail business, which became Brighthouse Financial (BHF). To handle this, they did a 1.122-for-1 stock split. It sounds complicated, but basically, for every 1,000 shares you had, you ended up with 1,122. This adjusted the price from around $53 down to the $37 range overnight. If you're looking at a chart and see a weird jump or drop in 2017, that’s why.
Recent Performance: 2024 and Into 2026
Fast forward to where we are now. MetLife has been on a bit of a tear lately. By late 2024, the stock was pushing past $76. Even with the ups and downs of interest rates, the company has managed to stay profitable.
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As of early 2026, the stock has been hovering around the $78 mark. It’s not the most volatile thing in the world, but it has actually outperformed the S&P 500 in certain short-term windows, like back in early 2025 when it gained about 9% over a 52-week period while the broader market was lagging slightly.
The company's "New Frontier" strategy, which they kicked off in late 2023, seems to be working. They’ve been offloading some of the riskier stuff—like variable annuities—to companies like Talcott Financial. This makes the earnings more predictable. Investors love predictable.
What the Numbers Actually Tell Us
If you look at the metlife stock quote history over the last few decades, a few things jump out:
- Resilience: It survived 2008 and the 2020 COVID crash (where it dipped back to the $37 range briefly).
- Dividend Growth: The quarterly dividend has climbed from $0.275 in 2013 to over $0.56 in 2025.
- The Interest Rate Connection: Insurance companies like MetLife generally do better when interest rates are higher because they earn more on the mountains of cash they sit on. When rates were near zero, the stock struggled to find momentum.
Is it a "Strong Buy"?
Analysts seem to think so. Right now, there’s a consensus "Strong Buy" rating from about 18 different analysts. The mean price target is sitting somewhere near $96. Of course, that’s just a guess. Nobody really knows for sure what will happen if the economy hits a snag.
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But looking back at the history, MetLife is a survivor. It’s not going to double your money in a week like a tech startup might, but it’s a bedrock kind of investment. It’s for the person who wants to sleep at night knowing their money is tied to a company that has been around since 1868.
Actionable Insights for Investors
If you're thinking about adding MET to your portfolio based on its history, here’s how to approach it:
- Watch the 10-Year Treasury: Since MetLife's profits are tied to interest rates, keep an eye on bond yields. If yields are rising, MET usually gets a tailwind.
- Don't ignore the dividends: With a yield often sitting around 2.8% to 3.0%, the "total return" (price gain + dividends) is usually much better than the price chart alone suggests.
- Check the "Adjusted" Book Value: In insurance, the "book value per share" is a huge deal. MetLife’s adjusted book value was up to about $56.23 in mid-2025. If the stock price is close to or below the adjusted book value, it might be undervalued.
- Mind the Spinoffs: Always check if a price drop is due to a spinoff like the Brighthouse event in 2017. Don't panic-sell just because the price looks lower on a chart.
Basically, MetLife is a marathon runner, not a sprinter. Its history shows that it takes the hits, raises capital when it needs to, and keeps paying out those checks to shareholders.
To get started, pull up a 20-year chart of MET and overlay the S&P 500. You'll see exactly where the insurance giant zigged when the market zagged. From there, check their latest 10-K filing to see how much of their portfolio is currently in private equity versus traditional bonds—that's where the next chapter of the quote history will be written.