Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 140,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,856 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Brighthouse Financial worth $6,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 35,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Brighthouse Financial by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Brighthouse Financial by 989.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. 81.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brighthouse Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:BHF opened at $48.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.65. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $54.73.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.50 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. Brighthouse Financial had a positive return on equity of 23.54% and a negative net margin of 24.40%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.18 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Myles Lambert sold 8,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $434,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,727,141.90. This trade represents a 20.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Rosenthal sold 4,265 shares of Brighthouse Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $196,360.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,971,502.48. The trade was a 4.71 % 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

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.