M&T Bank Corp Boosts Holdings in Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF)

M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,516 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Brighthouse Financial were worth $557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BHF. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 24,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 1,946 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 138.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,429,000 after buying an additional 15,682 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brighthouse Financial by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 9,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brighthouse Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $167,000. 81.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brighthouse Financial Price Performance

Brighthouse Financial stock opened at $46.12 on Tuesday. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.62 and a 12-month high of $56.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.42 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.29. Brighthouse Financial had a negative net margin of 38.05% and a positive return on equity of 23.49%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brighthouse Financial, Inc. will post 17.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BHF has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Brighthouse Financial from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Brighthouse Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brighthouse Financial

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