MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Raised to $80.00 at Argus

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price target raised by Argus from $77.00 to $80.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MET. Piper Sandler dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, May 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $79.08.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $72.54 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.78. MetLife has a 1-year low of $49.38 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The stock has a market cap of $51.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.09.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value 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 $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $558,460,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 118.1% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,957,000 after acquiring an additional 5,474,449 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,268 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth about $131,456,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 806.2% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,607,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,840 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.