Brokerages Set MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Target Price at $79.23

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.23.

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in MetLife by 12.0% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at approximately $397,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.3% during the third quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 25,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 5,629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $70.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.45. MetLife has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month 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. The company has a market capitalization of $50.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.03.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. MetLife’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. Equities analysts expect that MetLife will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.48%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.