Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Stock Position Decreased by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. by 66.6%, owning only 4,165 shares after selling 8,294 shares in the first quarter, with holdings now valued at approximately $242,000.
• Brighthouse Financial's stock was reported to have a market capitalization of $2.65 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.54, with shares recently opening at $46.18.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $60.30, while recent reports indicate mixed assessments, including a downgrade from Morgan Stanley.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 66.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,165 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,294 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 187.3% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,823,162 shares of the company's stock worth $87,585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188,685 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,131,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 156.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 656,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,537,000 after purchasing an additional 400,924 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 198.6% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 209,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,065,000 after purchasing an additional 139,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 6,338.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 118,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 116,177 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.30.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock traded up $0.78 on Monday, hitting $46.96. The company had a trading volume of 727,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 942,791. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.88. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.00 and a 52 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by ($0.55). The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 25.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.25 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Vonda Huss sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total transaction of $178,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,097,423.91. This trade represents a 13.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.