MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Cut to $83.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective lowered by Jefferies Financial Group from $88.00 to $83.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $79.92.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $69.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. MetLife has a 12-month low of $56.13 and a 12-month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were paid a $0.545 dividend. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $558,460,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,268 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth $131,456,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,752,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in MetLife by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,090,000 after acquiring an additional 700,788 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% 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.