Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Stake Reduced by Westerkirk Capital Inc.

Westerkirk Capital Inc. cut its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 45.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 42,500 shares during the quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 644,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,367,000 after acquiring an additional 16,897 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 914,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,205,000 after acquiring an additional 30,966 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Syon Capital LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 20,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $10,984,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE MFC opened at $38.94 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.62. The company has a market cap of $64.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $29.70 and a 1 year high of $40.40.

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

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 56.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MFC. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

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.