MetLife (NYSE:MET) Price Target Raised to $86.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) had its price target upped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $81.00 to $86.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.03% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.23.

MetLife Trading Up 0.0 %

MET traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 489,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,371,573. MetLife has a 52-week low of $56.13 and a 52-week high of $74.68. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.16. The firm has a market cap of $49.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MetLife will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CNB Bank lifted its position in MetLife by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.9% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in MetLife by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

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.