Piper Sandler Trims MetLife (NYSE:MET) Target Price to $82.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its target price lowered by Piper Sandler from $85.00 to $82.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $78.92.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6 %

MET opened at $71.66 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $50.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.65. MetLife has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 71.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 678.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,000,000 after buying an additional 250,402 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,824,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,661,000 after acquiring an additional 293,925 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of MetLife by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,304,000 after acquiring an additional 240,564 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in MetLife by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 742,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,088,000 after purchasing an additional 86,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 50.0% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

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.