Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Shares Sold by Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 14.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,274,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,102,400 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial comprises approximately 4.2% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned 0.37% of Manulife Financial worth $195,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MFC. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 178,700.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,787 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the first quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, May 19th.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $31.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $53.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.99. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $23.30 and a one year high of $33.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.54.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released 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). The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 15.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.3194 per share. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.02%.

Manulife Financial 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.