DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 30,994 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale trimmed its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,057,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,994 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.12% of Manulife Financial worth $65,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MFC. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.9% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 496,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,845,000 after purchasing an additional 14,088 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the first quarter worth $243,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 16,609.6% in the 2nd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,519,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510,314 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,501,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,970,000 after purchasing an additional 521,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter worth $431,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MFC stock opened at $31.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.90. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MFC. UBS Group started coverage on Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.00.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.