MetLife (NYSE:MET) PT Lowered to $82.00 at Piper Sandler

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $85.00 to $82.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price suggests a potential upside of 15.07% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group cut their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.92.

MetLife Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $71.26 on Monday. MetLife has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The company has a market capitalization of $50.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CNB Bank lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.3% during the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.7% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SWS Partners boosted its position in MetLife by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. SWS Partners now owns 55,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,102,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.