Deutsche Bank AG Sells 27,792 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Deutsche Bank AG decreased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,610,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,792 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.15% of Manulife Financial worth $80,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 60.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 741,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,919,000 after purchasing an additional 278,307 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the period. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,067.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 686,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,080,000 after acquiring an additional 627,614 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MFC shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $30.90 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.47. Manulife Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.30 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.00.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.01). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.3194 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.35%.

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.