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

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MET. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $79.92.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $70.19 on Friday. MetLife has a twelve month low of $55.18 and a twelve month high of $74.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.10.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MET. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $558,460,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $4,418,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,268 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at $131,456,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $52,752,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 20.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 700,788 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.