Ritholtz Wealth Management Decreases Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Ritholtz Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 186,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,962 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $5,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the first quarter worth $243,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 16,609.6% during the 2nd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,519,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510,314 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 17.2% in the first quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,527,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,780,000 after buying an additional 370,570 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,501,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,970,000 after buying an additional 521,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $431,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:MFC opened at $32.35 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.86. The stock has a market cap of $54.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.98. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MFC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.00.

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.