Lincluden Management Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Lincluden Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 861,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 76,800 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial accounts for approximately 3.0% of Lincluden Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Lincluden Management Ltd.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $26,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.3% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 9.0% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 53,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Haven Private LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 9,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 11,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of MFC opened at $34.11 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.43. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $25.92 and a 52 week high of $38.72. The stock has a market cap of $57.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 63.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.