Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 42,669 Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 117,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,669 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.20% of Brighthouse Financial worth $5,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE grew 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 worth $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 29.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 5.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Brighthouse Financial by 30.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.24% of the company’s stock.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

BHF opened at $50.56 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.15. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $54.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of -2.49 and a beta of 1.08.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last posted 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). Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 24.40% and a positive return on equity of 23.54%. The company 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 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 18.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Brighthouse Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Brighthouse Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Three equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brighthouse Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brighthouse Financial 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.