MetLife (NYSE:MET) Given New $97.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $97.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MET has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.58.

MetLife Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $83.08 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.25.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

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.