Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,641 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,407 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $7,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHF. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% in 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 during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $287,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 525,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,240,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,000. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $826,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF stock opened at $57.99 on Tuesday. 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $57.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Insider Activity

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,041,982. This represents a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BHF. Barclays upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.80.

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.