Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $410,000 Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Park Avenue Securities LLC cut its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,638 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 109.3% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 4,281 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 8.1% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 8,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2,413.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,562,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,924,000 after buying an additional 1,500,033 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth $55,000. Finally, McHugh Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.7%

MFC stock opened at $31.01 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.77. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $25.92 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $52.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.99.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 56.70%.

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.