MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Lowered to $91.00 at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group has reduced its target price for MetLife's stock from $94.00 to $91.00, while maintaining a "buy" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 23.79%.
• MetLife's latest earnings report showed a miss on earnings per share at $2.02, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32, with revenue also falling short of expectations.
• The company has initiated a $3.00 billion stock buyback plan, indicating that its leadership views its shares as undervalued.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by UBS Group from $94.00 to $91.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price target (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $98.00 price target (down previously from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.40.

MetLife Stock Up 3.3%

MET stock traded up $2.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $76.25. 4,351,726 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,282,496. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.10. MetLife has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.85. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.95%. MetLife's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 69.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth $37,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 6.1% during the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 403,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,489,000 after buying an additional 23,389 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in MetLife by 8.9% during the second quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 33,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,678,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.