K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Sells 59,973 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lowered its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 64.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 59,973 shares during the quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 144.4% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $35.45 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.99 and its 200-day moving average is $34.05. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $25.92 and a 52 week high of $38.72. The company has a market capitalization of $59.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

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.