Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,980 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,187 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Brighthouse Financial worth $7,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BHF. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 188.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 327.0% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth $94,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHF has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial raised 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 note on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total transaction of $178,530.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,097,423.91. The trade was a 13.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

BHF opened at $47.32 on Wednesday. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.00 and a twelve month high of $64.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $56.72 and its 200-day moving average is $55.38.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by ($0.55). Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 25.60%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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.