Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Stock Sold by Burkett Asset Management Ltd

Burkett Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 11.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 118,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,640 shares during the period. Manulife Financial makes up 4.8% of Burkett Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Burkett Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $5,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MFC. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 11.1% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $92,000. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $244,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 99.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 27,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 13,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 13,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MFC. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.75.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.0%

MFC stock opened at $42.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.88. The stock has a market cap of $71.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $31.41 and a 1 year high of $45.33.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%. Manulife Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a C$0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.49%.

Manulife Financial Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth and asset management, retirement solutions and employee benefits. Its offerings include life and health insurance, annuities, group benefits, mutual funds, pension products and investment management services for individuals, businesses and institutional clients.

Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into an international organization serving customers primarily in Canada, the United States and Asia.