MetLife (NYSE:MET) Given New $86.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price target lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $87.00 to $86.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.01% from the stock’s previous close.

MET has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. 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 report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.92.

MetLife Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $71.66 on Tuesday. MetLife has a 52-week low of $48.95 and a 52-week high of $74.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.65.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS 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 net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that MetLife will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 38.3% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 30,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,258,000 after buying an additional 8,440 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 450,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,368,000 after purchasing an additional 15,865 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 29,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in MetLife by 0.7% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 107,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,942,000 after buying an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.