Kowal Investment Group LLC Boosts Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,012,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,983,000 after purchasing an additional 131,538 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the first quarter valued at about $1,053,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 2,313.7% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,772,000 after purchasing an additional 100,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 30,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,258,000 after buying an additional 8,440 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $85.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.91 and a 52 week high of $86.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.27, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.46.

About MetLife

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.