MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Cut to $82.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its target price decreased by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $85.00 to $82.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.05% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on MET. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.00.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET traded up $0.68 on Monday, reaching $70.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 717,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,530,894. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.50. The stock has a market cap of $50.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.34, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at MetLife

In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MET. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 118.1% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,957,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,449 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $558,460,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,440,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $468,087,000 after purchasing an additional 276,364 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in MetLife by 0.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,829,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,763,000 after purchasing an additional 17,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in MetLife by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,090,000 after buying an additional 700,788 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% 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.