Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 161,548 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,631,352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 161,548 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.33% of Brighthouse Financial worth $324,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,365,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 71.0% in the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,598,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,693,000 after acquiring an additional 663,882 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,936,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 55.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 888,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,894,000 after acquiring an additional 317,322 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 396,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,335,000 after acquiring an additional 240,685 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total value of $468,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,080 shares in the company, valued at $1,268,698. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,350,324.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total transaction of $468,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,268,698. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ BHF opened at $51.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.71. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.24 and a 1 year high of $56.24.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.83 by ($0.91). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 20.71% and a negative net margin of 27.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 16.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brighthouse Financial Company Profile

Brighthouse Financial, Inc provides annuity and life insurance products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Annuities, Life, and Run-off. The Annuities segment offers variable, fixed, index-linked, and income annuities for contract holders' needs for protected wealth accumulation on a tax-deferred basis, wealth transfer, and income security.