Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target to $86.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $87.00 to $86.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target suggests a potential upside of 20.20% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.92.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $71.55. The stock had a trading volume of 771,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,525,501. The firm has a market cap of $50.88 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 current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. MetLife has a fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.71 and a 200-day moving average of $67.57.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 7.6% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 146,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,827,000 after acquiring an additional 10,300 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 27,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in MetLife by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 9,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $421,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in MetLife by 144.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 106,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,906,000 after purchasing an additional 347,547 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.