Royce & Associates LP Sells 34,050 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 97,360 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,050 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $4,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BHF. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $287,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $361,000. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BHF has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.80.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $58.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.00 and a twelve month high of $64.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average is $56.07 and its 200 day moving average is $50.59.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.88 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Brighthouse Financial

In related 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 value of $610,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,982. The trade was a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company 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.