MetLife (NYSE:MET) Given New $93.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $93.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 30.67% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $94.18.

MetLife Trading Down 2.8%

MET traded down $2.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,049,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,970,130. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $85.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $77.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. Analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in MetLife by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 790.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.