Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target to $85.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $86.00 to $85.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 21.57% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MET. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.15.

MetLife Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $69.92 on Monday. MetLife has a 12-month low of $57.21 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $71.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $49.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 14.2% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 112,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,106,000 after purchasing an additional 14,012 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 6,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 6.5% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of MetLife by 7.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 102,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,434,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1,568.0% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 75,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,722,000 after acquiring an additional 70,558 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Company Profile

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.