Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,301,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 701,069 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial accounts for about 0.7% of Bank of Nova Scotia’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $414,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth about $27,000. American Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MFC. Weiss Ratings lowered 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 research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $33.42 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $25.92 and a 1 year high of $38.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.96%.

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.