MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Raised to $97.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $97.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.58.

MetLife Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE MET opened at $81.02 on Wednesday. MetLife has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $56.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $83.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 244.4% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 131.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

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.