MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,920,000 shares, a decrease of 14.1% from the September 30th total of 10,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,310,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MetLife news, EVP Steven J. Goulart sold 4,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total transaction of $274,456.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,738,212.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 7.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. Now owns 4,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Its position grew in shares of MetLife by 4.4% in the third quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Now owns 13,596 shares of the financial services provider’s shares valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 579 during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.9% during the third quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. Now owns 73,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,453,000 after purchasing an additional 3,452 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth about $109,000. Finally, Harfst & Associates Inc. its raised holdings in shares of MetLife by 30.9% during the third quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. Now owns 33,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,012,000 after acquiring an additional 7,821 shares during the last quarter. 86.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on MetLife from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Credit Suisse Group boosted their objective price on shares of MetLife from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of MetLife to $81.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MetLife from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.92.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $73.14 on Friday. MetLife has a 52 week low of $57.05 and a 52 week high of $73.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $59.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.01.

MetLife (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $18.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 12.90%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 8th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.75%.

MetLife Company Profile

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MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through five segments: US; 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.

Further Reading

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