Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,465 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BHF. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 29.7% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,073,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,496,000 after purchasing an additional 475,327 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 723,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,438 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,663,000 after purchasing an additional 119,345 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 432,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,179,000 after purchasing an additional 15,643 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Brighthouse Financial by 12.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 368,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,041,000 after purchasing an additional 41,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BHF. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.14.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total transaction of $468,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,080 shares in the company, valued at $1,268,698. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total transaction of $468,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,080 shares in the company, valued at $1,268,698. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,350,324.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ BHF opened at $48.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.24 and a 1 year high of $56.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -2.63 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.80.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.83 by ($0.91). Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 27.01% and a positive return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.51 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 17.12 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.