Cwm LLC Sells 22,772 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Cwm LLC cut its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,772 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in Manulife Financial by 269.2% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. American Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 208.8% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in Manulife Financial by 144.4% in the third quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $38.74 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.36. The firm has a market cap of $64.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.82. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $29.70 and a 1 year high of $39.22.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. The company had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 63.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Profile

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.