Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for MetLife (NYSE:MET) Stock Price

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $93.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 26.69% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho set a $100.00 price target on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $94.18.

MetLife Trading Up 1.0%

MET stock opened at $73.41 on Tuesday. MetLife has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $85.00. The stock has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The company had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MET. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 187.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth $404,000. Finally, Burney Co. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 69,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,555,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.