Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,868 shares of the company's stock after selling 65,856 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Brighthouse Financial worth $6,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,091,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,160,000 after buying an additional 8,004 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 20.3% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 27,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter valued at $782,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 12.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 320,700 shares of the company's stock worth $14,441,000 after purchasing an additional 35,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,314,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,240,000 after purchasing an additional 50,441 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company's stock.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

BHF traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $47.99. 233,312 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 418,182. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.65. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $54.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 1.06.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.51). Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were 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 $1,727,141.90. The trade was a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $196,360.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,262 shares in the company, valued at $3,971,502.48. This trade represents a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.75.

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.