Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Sells 126,376 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. decreased its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,360,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 126,376 shares during the period. Manulife Financial accounts for about 2.5% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $95,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 38,181,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,388,259,000 after buying an additional 542,834 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,550,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,041,431,000 after acquiring an additional 728,643 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $777,229,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,885,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $616,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,808,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $623,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,490 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC stock opened at $42.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $30.20 and a 52-week high of $45.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.76 and its 200 day moving average is $39.12.

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

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 51.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.