Franklin Resources Inc. Buys New Shares in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV grew its position in Brighthouse Financial by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $287,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $312,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,982. The trade was a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays upgraded Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $50.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $64.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.16.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current 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.