Morgan Stanley Trims MetLife (NYSE:MET) Target Price to $85.00

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $86.00 to $85.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MET has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $83.00.

MetLife Stock Up 0.1 %

MetLife stock opened at $72.81 on Monday. MetLife has a 1-year low of $57.91 and a 1-year high of $79.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $71.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that MetLife will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in MetLife by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its position in MetLife by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. CNB Bank increased its position in MetLife by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its position in MetLife by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.