Jefferies Financial Group Boosts MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target to $95.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $89.00 to $95.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an overweight rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $85.23.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $82.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.98. MetLife has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $82.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that MetLife will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 114.7% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 602.5% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 72.6% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. 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.