KBC Group NV Buys 464 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

KBC Group NV raised its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 30.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,001 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $90,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BHF. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,273,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,210,000 after acquiring an additional 228,814 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 75.9% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 623,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,027,000 after acquiring an additional 269,062 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 278.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 280,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,147,000 after buying an additional 206,116 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 139.8% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 247,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,714,000 after acquiring an additional 144,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 214,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,646,000 after acquiring an additional 5,899 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BHF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total value of $1,141,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 321,072 shares in the company, valued at $14,663,358.24. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total transaction of $196,360.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,971,502.48. This represents a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,265 shares of company stock worth $1,564,211 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $51.74 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.55 and a beta of 1.05. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.00 and a fifty-two week high of $56.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.50 by ($0.51). Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.