Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 8.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,722,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 160,470 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $69,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Sfam LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $44.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.71. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $29.70 and a one year high of $45.33.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MFC shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Manulife Financial 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.