Foster & Motley Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 243,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,936 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $9,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,016,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,709,000 after purchasing an additional 363,963 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,092.1% in the 4th quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 51,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after buying an additional 47,301 shares during the period. Canerector Inc. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,645,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,191,000 after buying an additional 1,154,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,351,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,401,000 after buying an additional 839,820 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MFC. Zacks Research cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $44.06 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $29.70 and a 12 month high of $45.33.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 53.36%.

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.