Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 55.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,690 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,601 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BHF. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 204.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 135,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 91,175 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 12.7% in the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 153,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,665,000 after purchasing an additional 17,329 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Brighthouse Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $3,439,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,311,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 139.8% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 247,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,714,000 after buying an additional 144,102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In other news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $434,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,727,141.90. This represents a 20.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $196,360.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,971,502.48. This trade represents a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $51.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.96. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.00 and a fifty-two week high of $56.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.51). Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.18 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Brighthouse Financial Profile

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.