MetLife (NYSE:MET) Given New $94.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $94.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MET has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays reduced their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.00.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $70.87 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.52. MetLife has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in MetLife by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,559,000 after buying an additional 12,723 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.