MetLife (NYSE:MET) Given New $92.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $96.00 to $92.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 21.79% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wolfe Research raised MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.18.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.54. 2,676,793 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,380,455. MetLife has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.14 and a 200 day moving average of $78.75. The company has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $12.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 39.5% in the third quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 78,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,468,000 after buying an additional 22,247 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 73,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,050,000 after acquiring an additional 2,521 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 32,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 5,441 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in MetLife by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 369,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,448,000 after purchasing an additional 88,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in MetLife by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 3,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.