MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 317.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,326 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,418,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,268 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $378,799,000 after acquiring an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $371,993,000 after buying an additional 269,246 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 3.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $226,358,000 after acquiring an additional 100,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $157,133,000 after purchasing an additional 485,811 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.02. 2,349,005 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,328,527. The firm has a market cap of $56.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $81.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.16 and a 1-year high of $86.94.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife's payout ratio is 43.95%.

MetLife Company Profile

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.