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

Kowal Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 33.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares during the quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.7% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $69.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,718,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,379,561. The company has a market capitalization of $49.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.13 and a 52-week high of $74.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.