MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Raised to $98.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $94.00 to $98.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 19.63% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.85.

MetLife Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:MET traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.92. The company had a trading volume of 767,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,272,033. MetLife has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 forecast that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $225,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 270,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,166,000 after purchasing an additional 15,479 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $16,359,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 29,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,413,000 after buying an additional 3,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $62,265,000. 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.