MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Cut to $95.00 by Analysts at Barclays

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its target price cut by Barclays from $96.00 to $95.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.08.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $83.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. 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 has a 1-year low of $66.18 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.72 and its 200-day moving average is $80.83.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of MetLife by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 79.1% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,378,000 after acquiring an additional 762,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 256.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% 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.