Brighthouse Financial, Inc. $BHF Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America cut its Brighthouse Financial stake by 81.2% in the first quarter, selling 441,706 shares and retaining 102,582 shares valued at approximately $6.1 million.
• Despite the sale, institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of BHF, with UBS, AQR Capital Management, and Morgan Stanley among those that recently increased their positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $60.50. Brighthouse recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $4.45 in EPS versus the $4.86 consensus.

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 81.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,582 shares of the company's stock after selling 441,706 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.18% of Brighthouse Financial worth $6,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HBK Investments L P acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $136,059,000. Glazer Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $113,252,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,413,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690,064 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 190.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,396,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,113,000 after purchasing an additional 915,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 149.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,264,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,959,000 after purchasing an additional 758,010 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BHF shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Brighthouse Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Brighthouse Financial from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Brighthouse Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $60.50.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 1.2%

BHF stock opened at $52.49 on Thursday. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.07 and a 12-month high of $66.80. The business's 50-day moving average is $61.60 and its 200 day moving average is $61.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.87.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.86 by ($0.41). Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. Brighthouse Financial's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Brighthouse Financial

Brighthouse Financial, Inc is a U.S.-based life insurance company that specializes in retirement income solutions and annuity products. The firm was established in August 2017 as a spin-off from MetLife, Inc, and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since its separation, Brighthouse Financial has focused on providing products designed to help individuals and families manage retirement income needs, drawing on decades of experience in life insurance and annuity administration inherited from its parent company.

The company's core product offerings include fixed indexed annuities, which allow policyholders to participate in market-linked gains while protecting against downside market risk, and single premium immediate annuities, which provide guaranteed lifetime income.

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