Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 11,438 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. sold 11,438 shares of Brighthouse Financial, reducing its stake by 18.5%, leaving it with 50,434 shares valued at approximately $2.71 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Brighthouse Financial dramatically, with Jones Financial Companies growing its stake by 835.2% in the first quarter.
• Brighthouse Financial reported quarterly earnings of $3.43 EPS, missing estimates significantly, and its revenue of $2.15 billion was down 2.8% year-over-year.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 18.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,434 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,438 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.09% of Brighthouse Financial worth $2,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 188.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 622 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 42.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 764 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 835.2% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 823 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 101.7% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 19.4% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BHF shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Brighthouse Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.67.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

BHF stock opened at $54.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company's fifty day moving average price is $47.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.90. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $42.07 and a one year high of $64.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.87.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($1.27). The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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