Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,580 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,890 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2,632.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 884,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,475,000 after buying an additional 851,808 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,131,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,682,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,807,000 after acquiring an additional 181,980 shares during the last quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,321,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,748,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded Brighthouse Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.00.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BHF opened at $50.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.00 and a 1-year high of $64.12. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.77 and a 200-day moving average of $52.21.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,982. This trade represents a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.