Public Sector Pension Investment Board Lowers Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Public Sector Pension Investment Board decreased its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 85.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 181,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,083,902 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $5,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $36.98 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $25.92 and a 52-week high of $38.72. The stock has a market cap of $62.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.86.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued 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 return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.31%.

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.