California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 136,867 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,446 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.21% of Brighthouse Financial worth $7,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BHF. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 21.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 667,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,663,000 after buying an additional 119,345 shares during the last quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC bought a new position in Brighthouse Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $2,819,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Brighthouse Financial by 80.5% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 315,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,452,000 after purchasing an additional 140,796 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 94.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,043,000 after purchasing an additional 40,194 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Brighthouse Financial in the third quarter worth about $1,165,000. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Stock Performance

BHF opened at $48.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.62 and a beta of 1.14. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.24 and a fifty-two week high of $56.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.42 and a 200 day moving average of $49.80.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by ($0.91). The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 27.01% and a positive return on equity of 20.71%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 17.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 390,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,350,324.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Brighthouse Financial news, CEO Eric T. Steigerwalt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $1,174,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 390,765 shares in the company, valued at $18,350,324.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vonda Huss sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.85, for a total value of $468,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,268,698. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BHF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.14.

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.