Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 20.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 255,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,000 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $7,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Eastern Bank increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 156.1% in the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $36.66 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $25.92 and a one year high of $36.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.18.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.81%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.