Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Price

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $92.00 to $94.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.76% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on MET. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 0.9 %

MET traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.91. 707,502 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,532,809. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $730,716,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in MetLife by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,427,000 after acquiring an additional 6,213,923 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,663,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $463,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723,461 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.