MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Raised to $103.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its target price lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $100.00 to $103.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MET has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective (down from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.00.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $75.32 on Monday. MetLife has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $50.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.92.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 198.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 94.99% 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.