GSB Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

GSB Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 32.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,850 shares during the quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $4,447,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 5,843,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,163,000 after purchasing an additional 343,132 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,064,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,340,000 after purchasing an additional 243,880 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 307,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,642,000 after purchasing an additional 20,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 74,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. 45.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $18.85 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Co. has a one year low of $14.92 and a one year high of $20.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.12.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.31 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 11.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.276 per share. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.86%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 52.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Manulife Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 11th.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, 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.