Short Interest in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Declines By 12.8%

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 8.1 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $75.80 on Friday. MetLife has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $51.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.96.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

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.