MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Raised to $83.00 at Morgan Stanley

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $82.00 to $83.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MET has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. 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 report on Monday, May 6th. Argus raised their target price on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $80.23.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $73.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.46. 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 has a 12-month low of $57.70 and a 12-month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The company 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%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that MetLife will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.