MetLife (NYSE:MET) Given New $94.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 21.85% from the stock's previous close.
• Other analysts have varied opinions on MetLife's stock, with Jefferies Financial Group raising its target to $103.00 and two analysts rating it as a hold, while the consensus price target remains at $95.60.
• MetLife's recent quarterly earnings report showed missed expectations with earnings per share of $2.02, below the estimate of $2.32, signaling a decline in quarterly revenue compared to the prior year.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.85% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.60.

MetLife Trading Down 0.2%

MET stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $77.14. 78,922 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,403,469. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.66. MetLife has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in MetLife by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,488,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,126,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,907 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $756,104,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 9,144,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $735,412,000 after purchasing an additional 585,671 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in MetLife by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,862,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $711,597,000 after buying an additional 36,177 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,406,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $594,410,000 after buying an additional 259,993 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% 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.

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