Legal & General Group Plc Sells 9,645 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,773 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,645 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.19% of Brighthouse Financial worth $5,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,091,462 shares of the company's stock worth $49,160,000 after purchasing an additional 8,004 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $826,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth $312,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Institute for Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth $287,000. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $610,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock traded down $0.36 on Friday, hitting $53.51. The stock had a trading volume of 85,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 538,994. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $64.12. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $55.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36 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, 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays raised Brighthouse Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $64.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Brighthouse Financial Profile

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.