Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Shares Sold by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,424 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,067 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Brighthouse Financial by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $258,000. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $287,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,041,982. This trade represents a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

BHF stock opened at $59.78 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.91. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.00 and a fifty-two week high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 26.94%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on BHF. Raymond James upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays upgraded Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on Brighthouse Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $52.00 price objective on Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.80.

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.