MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Raised to $94.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Free Report) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $94.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.69.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.82. 2,371,416 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,403,239. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.22.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,559,000 after acquiring an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $259,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

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.