Capital World Investors Trims Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Capital World Investors lessened its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,664,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,226 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned 0.28% of Manulife Financial worth $145,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth $27,000. American Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $33.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.33. 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 issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 63.96%.

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.