Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,199 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,555 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.07% of Brighthouse Financial worth $1,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 46,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased 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 valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 72,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. 81.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BHF. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.40.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $60.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.56. 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 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $64.12.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.72 by ($0.55). The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a return on equity of 26.94% and a net margin of 8.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 20.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brighthouse Financial Company 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.