D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 75.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 623,607 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 269,062 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 1.00% of Brighthouse Financial worth $27,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 21.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,273,882 shares of the company's stock worth $55,210,000 after purchasing an additional 228,814 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth $33,362,000. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 1.9% during the first quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 340,683 shares of the company's stock worth $17,559,000 after purchasing an additional 6,496 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 241,938 shares of the company's stock worth $12,469,000 after purchasing an additional 5,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 226,045 shares of the company's stock worth $11,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company's stock.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

BHF stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 251,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,777. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.00 and a fifty-two week high of $56.24. The company's 50 day moving average is $44.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.78.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $5.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.36 by $1.21. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 22.03% and a positive return on equity of 26.22%. Brighthouse Financial's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.13 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total transaction of $297,397.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571,093.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 96,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,428,052. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Edward A. Spehar sold 7,125 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total transaction of $297,397.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,571,093.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,125 shares of company stock worth $1,895,248 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BHF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Brighthouse Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $51.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.25.

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.