MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Short Interest Update

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) saw a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,420,000 shares, a decrease of 12.8% from the February 28th total of 7,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET traded down $5.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $77.30. 1,120,983 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,277,040. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $52.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.98 and a 200-day moving average of $83.01.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MetLife

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CX Institutional raised its holdings in MetLife by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after acquiring an additional 9,337 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted 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 during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $259,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.85.

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.