Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 30.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,076 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $3,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at about $632,238,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its stake in 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 valued at $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,008,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $453,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,251 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,336,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,440,795,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE MFC opened at $37.87 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.66. The stock has a market cap of $63.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $25.92 and a twelve month high of $38.72.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Manulife Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a 10.2% increase to the common share quarterly dividend (to $0.485 per share), a direct support to income investors. Manulife increases common shareholders’ dividend by 10.2%
• Positive Sentiment: Company announced intention to launch a Normal Course Issuer Bid to buy up to ~42 million common shares (~2.5% of outstanding), which can be accretive and support the share price. Manulife announces intention to launch Normal Course Issuer Bid
• Positive Sentiment: External auditors issued a clean opinion on Manulife’s 2025 IFRS financial statements, reducing accounting risk and boosting disclosure confidence. Manulife Receives Clean Audit Opinion on 2025 IFRS Financial Statements
• Positive Sentiment: Manulife reported record core earnings for 2025 and strong insurance new business on a full-year basis — positives for long-term earnings power. Manulife Reports Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Manulife filed its 2025 audited annual financial statements and related MD&A with regulators (Form 40-F and Canadian filings) — routine regulatory disclosure. Manulife files 2025 Audited Annual Financial Statements and Related MD&A
• Neutral Sentiment: Board declared quarterly dividends on multiple series of preferred shares (scheduled payouts). Manulife declares preferred share dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Reported quarterly EPS came in below analysts’ consensus (reported $0.80 vs. ~$1.06 estimate) and Reuters highlighted lower quarterly profit driven by North America weakness — the EPS miss is the primary near-term negative catalyst. Manulife Q4 press release Reuters: Manulife posts lower quarterly profit

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.