Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Lowers Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. cut its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,565,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 245,031 shares during the period. Manulife Financial accounts for 2.6% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. owned 0.15% of Manulife Financial worth $93,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Canerector Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% in 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. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $777,229,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,822,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $866,649,000 after acquiring an additional 5,671,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 13,155.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 4,229,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,743,000 after acquiring an additional 4,197,592 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MFC. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $40.25 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $38.31 and its 200 day moving average is $36.77. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $29.70 and a fifty-two week high of $40.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.75%.

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.