BNP Paribas Financial Markets Cuts Stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 36.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,537 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,006 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $287,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 525,388 shares of the company's stock worth $25,240,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $384,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $312,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 114,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,524,000 after purchasing an additional 33,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BHF shares. Barclays raised their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on Brighthouse Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Brighthouse Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.80.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of BHF traded up $2.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $60.79. 703,206 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 577,203. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $55.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.06. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by ($0.55). Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 26.94%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS 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.