Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 404 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 123.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 732 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $36,365,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 663,882 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $25,936,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 317,322 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 240,685 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BHF opened at $51.30 on Friday. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.24 and a 1 year high of $56.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.03 and its 200 day moving average is $49.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.77 and a beta of 1.16.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced 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 negative net margin of 27.01% and a positive return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 17.1 earnings per share for the current year.

About Brighthouse Financial

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.