Metro (TSE:MRU) Insider Alain Tadros Sells 960 Shares of Stock

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) insider Alain Tadros sold 960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$90.27, for a total transaction of C$86,659.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,952 shares in the company, valued at C$537,287.04. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock.

Metro Price Performance

Shares of TSE:MRU traded down C$0.34 on Tuesday, reaching C$89.71. 160,065 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 535,271. The stock has a market capitalization of C$18.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.09, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$91.04 and its 200-day moving average is C$92.18. Metro Inc. has a fifty-two week low of C$86.63 and a fifty-two week high of C$101.30.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported C$1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 12.87% and a net margin of 4.00%.The company had revenue of C$6.97 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Metro Inc. will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 22nd will be given a $0.4075 dividend. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is 36.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRU. TD boosted their target price on shares of Metro from C$106.00 to C$108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. National Bank Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Metro from C$105.00 to C$102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Metro from C$111.00 to C$110.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. TD Securities raised shares of Metro to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from C$105.00 to C$95.00 in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$102.33.

Metro Company Profile

With annual sales of more than $22 billion, METRO Inc is a food and pharmacy leader in Québec and Ontario, providing employment to more than 97,000 people. Its purpose is to Nourish the health and well-being of our communities. As a retailer, franchisor, distributor, manufacturer, and provider of eCommerce services, the company operates or services a network of some 1,000 food stores under several banners including Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, Food Basics, Adonis and Première Moisson, and some 640 pharmacies primarily under the Jean Coutu, Brunet, Metro Pharmacy and Food Basics Pharmacy banners.