Northern Trust Corp Raises Stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 720,243 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,323 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.25% of Brighthouse Financial worth $41,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BHF. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 42.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 764 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $94,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,097,423.91. This represents a 13.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.67.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BHF opened at $46.72 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.27. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $64.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($1.27). Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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.