Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 17,495 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 77.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,239 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,495 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2,632.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 884,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,475,000 after buying an additional 851,808 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,682,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,807,000 after purchasing an additional 181,980 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,314,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,240,000 after purchasing an additional 50,441 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,748,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,477,000. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In related news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $610,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,041,982. This trade represents a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 12.2 %

BHF opened at $47.29 on Friday. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.00 and a twelve month high of $64.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 26.94%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BHF has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $64.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

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.