Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 7,407 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162,641 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,407 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Brighthouse Financial worth $7,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,314,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,240,000 after buying an additional 50,441 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $287,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 525,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,240,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $826,000. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $52.00 price target on Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $41.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $52.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.80.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $57.99 on Tuesday. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $64.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.50.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts expect that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Brighthouse Financial

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $610,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,041,982. This trade represents a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.