Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE trimmed its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 17.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 230,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,059 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $7,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 144.4% in the third quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $35.55 on Monday. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $25.92 and a twelve month high of $38.72. The stock has a market cap of $59.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.15.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 63.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings cut Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One 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.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

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.