M&T Bank Corp Grows Stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,094 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 825 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BHF. Versant Capital Management Inc increased 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 327.0% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total value of $178,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,097,423.91. This represents a 13.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.30.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $51.09 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.88. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.00 and a 12-month high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by ($0.55). The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 25.60% and a net margin of 8.71%. Brighthouse Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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.