Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Shares Sold by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP cut its holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 199,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77,418 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.34% of Brighthouse Financial worth $9,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHF. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,682,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,807,000 after purchasing an additional 181,980 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $49,160,000 after buying an additional 8,004 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2,632.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 884,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,475,000 after acquiring an additional 851,808 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,131,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 525,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,240,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.00.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF stock opened at $48.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 predict that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,982. This represents 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 hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.