Ieq Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 36,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,748,000. Ieq Capital LLC owned about 0.06% of Brighthouse Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BHF. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $643,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,234 shares of the company's stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $287,000. 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. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,041,982. The trade was a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,727,141.90. This trade represents a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BHF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Brighthouse Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $64.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays raised Brighthouse Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.14.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $58.70. 913,561 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 751,433. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.10. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $64.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.35.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS 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 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.