Stock Update: MetLife Inc (NYSE:MET) – MetLife to pay $25 mln for annuity sales violations-FINRA

[Reuters] – The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has sanctioned MetLife Securities Inc. $25 million in connection with variable annuity sales, the regulator said on Tuesday. The sanction, agreed to in a settlement, includes a $20 million fine and $5 million to be repaid to customers, FINRA said. The fine is FINRA’s largest related to variable annuities, the regulator said. Read more on this. MetLife, Inc. (MET) , valued at $48.87B, began trading this morning at $45.11. Looking at today’s trading action, the company’s one day range from $44.24 to $45.20 and has traded between $35.00 and $58.23 over the past 12 months. MET shares are currently priced at 8.04x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively inexpensive compared to the industry’s 14.89x earnings multiple for the same period. The company pays shareholders $1.60 per share annually in dividends, yielding 3.55%. According to a consensus of 18 analysts, the earnings estimate of $1.38 per share would be $0.06 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.05 sequential decrease. The full-year EPS estimate is $5.69, which would be a $0.83 better than last year. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $17.06 Billion. If reported, that would be a 0.18% increase over the year-ago quarter. Recently, Raymond James upgraded MET from Mkt Perform to Strong Buy (Jan 22, 2016). Previously, Macquarie upgraded MET from Neutral to Outperform. The average price target for MET shares by the analysts covering the stock is $51.87, which is 14.99% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:MET) Similar Articles: Market Update: MetLife Inc (NYSE:MET) – MetLife Announces First Quarter 2016 Preferred Stock Dividend Action, Subject to Final Confirmation Stock Update: MetLife Inc (NYSE:MET) – MetLife Named ‘2015 Best Life Insurance Company in Turkey’ Stock Update: MetLife Inc (NYSE:MET) – A.M. Best Assigns Ratings to MetLife, Inc.’s New Senior Unsecured Notes