MetLife Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:MET)

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 20,867 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 785% compared to the average daily volume of 2,359 call options.

MetLife Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,005,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,214,047. MetLife has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $88.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $52.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.96.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $12.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MetLife

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $756,104,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 13.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,749,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,333,418,000 after acquiring an additional 7,578,199 shares in the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new position in MetLife in the second quarter worth $178,669,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 105.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 40.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,507,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,107 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MET shares. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 target price on MetLife and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of MetLife from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.73.

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.