Atria Investments Inc Has $1.85 Million Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Atria Investments Inc trimmed its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 20.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,879 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE MFC opened at $37.20 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $38.72. The company has a market capitalization of $62.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.84.

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

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.51%.

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.