Wells Fargo & Company Lowers MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target to $85.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $86.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.81% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on MET. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.85.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 717,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,503,997. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $71.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $51.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. MetLife has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of MetLife by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 91,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,518,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth about $553,000. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in MetLife by 2.1% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 45,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,831,000 after acquiring an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 14,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 1,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 1,723 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.