US Bancorp DE Cuts Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 230,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,059 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $7,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 144.4% in the third quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $35.55 on Monday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $25.92 and a 1-year high of $38.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.15. The stock has a market cap of $59.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 63.51%.

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.