Magnetar Financial LLC Has $5.89 Million Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Magnetar Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 36.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 189,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 109,867 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $5,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.0%

Manulife Financial stock opened at $33.76 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $36.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.33. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $25.92 and a twelve month high of $38.72. The company has a market capitalization of $56.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. The company had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MFC. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

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.