Private Management Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 330,880 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,225 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. owned 0.56% of Brighthouse Financial worth $15,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 102.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 160,399 shares of the company's stock worth $7,223,000 after purchasing an additional 81,040 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,314,905 shares of the company's stock worth $104,240,000 after buying an additional 50,441 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 12.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 320,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,441,000 after acquiring an additional 35,800 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter valued at about $14,280,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter worth about $1,404,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Brighthouse Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.75.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Brighthouse Financial stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $59.39. 880,715 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 689,130. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.92 and a beta of 1.10. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $64.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $50.74 and its 200-day moving average is $47.95.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.50 by ($0.51). Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,041,982. The trade was a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $434,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,727,141.90. The trade was a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.