Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Sells 152,966 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 22.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 535,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 152,966 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial accounts for about 1.0% of Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $18,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,317,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,843,882,000 after buying an additional 1,606,480 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 38,181,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,388,259,000 after acquiring an additional 542,834 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,550,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,041,431,000 after acquiring an additional 728,643 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $777,229,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,885,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $616,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on MFC shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $43.64 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $29.70 and a one year high of $43.81. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

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.