MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Cut to $85.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $86.00 to $85.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MET has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut MetLife from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $80.23.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $72.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $71.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.38. MetLife has a 1-year low of $57.70 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.11.

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 return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that MetLife will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 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.