Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Price

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $101.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.69.

MetLife Trading Up 1.1%

MET opened at $91.13 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.56. The firm has a market cap of $58.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $92.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 45.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after purchasing an additional 7,805,814 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in MetLife by 133.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,098,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $219,136,000 after buying an additional 1,771,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 105.3% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,424,000 after buying an additional 1,695,563 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.