Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stock Position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 47.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,872 shares of the company's stock after selling 55,858 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.11% of Brighthouse Financial worth $3,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 188.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 622 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in Brighthouse Financial by 327.0% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BHF traded up $0.83 during trading on Thursday, hitting $58.87. The company had a trading volume of 720,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,891. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.00 and a fifty-two week high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 8.71% and a return on equity of 25.60%. 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 posted $4.25 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total transaction of $178,530.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,097,423.91. The trade was a 13.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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.