MetLife (NYSE:MET) PT Raised to $82.00 at Morgan Stanley

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $82.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $79.23.

MetLife Trading Up 1.5 %

MetLife stock opened at $69.95 on Monday. MetLife has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The company has a market capitalization of $50.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MET. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.