Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 31.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,856 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $6,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 974.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 97.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the second quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the first quarter worth $110,000. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total value of $1,141,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 321,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,663,358.24. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.22, for a total transaction of $226,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 91,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,126,867.64. This trade represents a 5.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,265 shares of company stock worth $1,564,211 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.63.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of BHF opened at $50.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.46 and a beta of 1.05. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $56.24.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.44 earnings per share 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.