Barclays PLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Barclays PLC reduced its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 50.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,503 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $1,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 75.9% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 623,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,027,000 after purchasing an additional 269,062 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 21.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,273,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,210,000 after buying an additional 228,814 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 278.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 280,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,147,000 after buying an additional 206,116 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 3,362.1% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 158,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,854,000 after buying an additional 153,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 139.8% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 247,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,714,000 after acquiring an additional 144,102 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

BHF stock opened at $48.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.48. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $54.73. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.50 by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,727,141.90. This trade represents a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total transaction of $196,360.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,262 shares in the company, valued at $3,971,502.48. This represents a 4.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Brighthouse Financial

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.