Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 191,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 619 shares during the quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $6,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MFC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 134.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,444,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,840,963 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,155,639,000 after buying an additional 2,289,205 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 30.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,653,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $300,860,000 after buying an additional 2,226,152 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 871.5% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,023,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,057,000 after buying an additional 1,815,642 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 7.3% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,425,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $760,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,626 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $31.65 on Monday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $33.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.87.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%.The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.3199 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

About Manulife Financial

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.