Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,090 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,799 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.08% of Brighthouse Financial worth $2,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BHF. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,345 shares of the company's stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 72,872 shares of the company's stock worth $3,501,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BHF. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $41.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on Brighthouse Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,041,982. The trade was a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $49.84. 51,046 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 529,469. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $56.66 and a 200-day moving average of $52.06. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $64.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.91.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.56 by $1.32. Brighthouse Financial had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 26.94%. As a group, analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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.