Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Sold by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 57.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,782 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 109.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 199,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,401,000 after acquiring an additional 104,026 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 5,507,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,922,000 after acquiring an additional 446,233 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 86,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after acquiring an additional 26,369 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 5,793,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,019,000 after acquiring an additional 582,468 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Desjardins raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $22.94 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.39. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $17.07 and a 1-year high of $25.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 15.98%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.298 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.20%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.66%.

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.