Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 144,593 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MFC. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 46,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 9,478 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.5% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,861,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,779,000 after purchasing an additional 166,076 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 642,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,207,000 after purchasing an additional 198,208 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,364,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,065,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $37.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $62.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $25.92 and a 12-month high of $38.72.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.31%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.