Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 720,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 253,611 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $22,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MFC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $632,238,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 19.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,008,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $453,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,251 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,336,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,440,795,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003,226 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,255,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $36.74 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $25.92 and a 52 week high of $38.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $36.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 55.56%.

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.