MetLife (NYSE:MET) Given New $94.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $94.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 22.46% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on MET. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.69.

MetLife Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $76.76 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.32 and its 200-day moving average is $81.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of MetLife

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in MetLife by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after acquiring an additional 9,337 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in MetLife by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after buying an additional 12,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $259,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.