Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $5.52 Million Stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 41.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 114,984 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,716 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.19% of Brighthouse Financial worth $5,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,314,905 shares of the company's stock worth $104,240,000 after buying an additional 50,441 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $287,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 525,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,240,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $384,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $312,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on BHF shares. Raymond James raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ BHF traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 520,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,332. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $64.12. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $55.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.16.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.94% and a net margin of 8.21%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,041,982. This represents a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.