Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,881,182 shares of the company's stock after selling 106,284 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.91% of Brighthouse Financial worth $282,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 14,084 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth $620,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 126,542 shares of the company's stock worth $6,079,000 after buying an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,682,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,807,000 after buying an additional 181,980 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 54,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,602,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,041,982. This trade represents a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock traded up $6.55 on Wednesday, reaching $53.88. 2,388,602 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 525,994. The firm's 50 day moving average is $57.15 and its 200-day moving average is $51.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $64.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.91.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 26.94%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $52.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Brighthouse Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $41.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.80.

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 consists of 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.