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

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,556,877 shares of the company's stock after selling 74,475 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.43% of Brighthouse Financial worth $346,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 412.3% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 123.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 732 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Inserra purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $43.20 per share, with a total value of $108,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,500 shares in the company, valued at $237,600. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.91, for a total transaction of $298,608.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,876,101.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Inserra acquired 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $43.20 per share, with a total value of $108,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,500 shares in the company, valued at $237,600. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BHF traded down $0.21 on Friday, reaching $43.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 759,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 390,692. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.24 and a 52-week high of $56.24. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.29. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 38.05% and a positive return on equity of 23.49%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.86 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 17.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BHF. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.38.

Brighthouse Financial Company 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.