Pitcairn Co. Sells 18,546 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Pitcairn Co. decreased its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,546 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,711,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,390,023,000 after purchasing an additional 374,615 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,638,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,172,922,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079,330 shares during the last quarter. Canerector Inc. increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% during the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $877,932,000 after purchasing an additional 27,564,000 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 25,155,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $803,975,000 after purchasing an additional 730,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $632,238,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $33.65 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $38.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.24. The firm has a market cap of $56.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial 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.