Kowal Investment Group LLC Has $937,000 Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Kowal Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 114.7% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 602.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 72.6% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $80.85 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.63. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.91 and a 1-year high of $81.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $57.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays started coverage on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.54.

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.