Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 68,043 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Allianz Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 637,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 68,043 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $19,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 46,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 9,478 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.9% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 496,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,845,000 after purchasing an additional 14,088 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.5% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,861,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,779,000 after purchasing an additional 166,076 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 44.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 642,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,207,000 after purchasing an additional 198,208 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth about $4,364,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of MFC stock opened at $38.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $25.92 and a 52-week high of $38.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.64 and its 200 day moving average is $33.50.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.81%.The company had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 26th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MFC. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

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.