Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 5,947 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,402,041 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,947 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.73% of Brighthouse Financial worth $163,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BHF. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 327.0% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $227,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter worth $233,000. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,234 shares of the company's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $610,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,041,982. This trade represents a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BHF shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Brighthouse Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised Brighthouse Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of BHF stock traded up $0.81 on Friday, reaching $54.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 621,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,713. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $54.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.52. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $64.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 26.94%. Analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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.