Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target to $95.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its target price decreased by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $98.00 to $95.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 40.30% from the company’s previous close.

MET has been the topic of several other reports. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.62.

MetLife Price Performance

MET traded down $0.71 on Wednesday, hitting $67.71. 998,046 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,773,136. 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 one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $46.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MET. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in MetLife by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,559,000 after acquiring an additional 12,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $259,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.