MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised its price target for MetLife's stock from $94.00 to $97.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.54% based on current prices.
• The stock has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with one analyst issuing a Strong Buy and ten others assigning a Buy rating.
• MetLife reported a quarterly EPS of $2.02, below the expected $2.32, with revenue decreasing 2.7% compared to the same period last year.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $97.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.54% from the stock's current price.

MET has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.91.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $82.53. 369,572 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,396,191. The company's 50 day moving average price is $79.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.14. MetLife has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 198.2% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Motco grew its stake in MetLife by 105.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter worth about $37,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MetLife

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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