Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Sold by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management lowered its position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 0.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 183,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,662 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $4,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $473,568,000. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 750.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,910,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,990,000 after purchasing an additional 8,745,071 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 57.9% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,444,000 after buying an additional 8,548,114 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $823,074,000 after acquiring an additional 7,766,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 103.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,686,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,025,000 after acquiring an additional 7,456,712 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. National Bank Financial upgraded Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Manulife Financial stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,212,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,768,166. The stock has a market cap of $49.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.09. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $27.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.23 and a 200 day moving average of $25.21.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The firm had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.44%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.