Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) Shares Sold by Fruth Investment Management

Fruth Investment Management lowered its holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 0.9% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 35,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position 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. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Shares of BHF opened at $59.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of -2.93 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.95. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.00 and a twelve month high of $64.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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). Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.18 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BHF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Brighthouse Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brighthouse Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.75.

Insider Activity

In other Brighthouse Financial news, EVP John Rosenthal sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,041,982. This represents a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $434,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,727,141.90. This trade represents a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.