SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 18,726 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 43.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,726 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $777,229,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its position in Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,544,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,822,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $866,649,000 after buying an additional 5,671,639 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 13,155.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 4,229,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,743,000 after buying an additional 4,197,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 194.9% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 6,205,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,597,000 after buying an additional 4,101,390 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:MFC opened at $41.16 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.70 and a 12-month high of $41.43.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MFC. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.