Larson Financial Group LLC Sells 71,904 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Larson Financial Group LLC trimmed its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 94.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 71,904 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 109.4% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 199,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,401,000 after purchasing an additional 104,026 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 5,507,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,922,000 after acquiring an additional 446,233 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 86,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,577,000 after acquiring an additional 26,369 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 5,793,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,019,000 after acquiring an additional 582,468 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MFC shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.33.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MFC opened at $23.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.58. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $17.07 and a 1-year high of $25.14.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.298 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.