Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BHF. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2,632.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 884,162 shares of the company's stock worth $42,475,000 after acquiring an additional 851,808 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $37,131,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,682,076 shares of the company's stock worth $80,807,000 after purchasing an additional 181,980 shares during the period. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,321,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth $1,748,000. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BHF shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Barclays raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $52.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.00.

Insider Activity

In other Brighthouse Financial 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 transaction of $610,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,982. This trade represents a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Brighthouse Financial stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $52.03. 945,151 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 541,065. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $64.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm's 50 day moving average is $55.44 and its 200 day moving average is $52.29.

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