Choreo LLC Trims Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Choreo LLC trimmed its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,718 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $632,238,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its holdings in 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 worth $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,638,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,172,922,000 after acquiring an additional 2,079,330 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 2.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,003,226 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $35.55 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $25.92 and a 52 week high of $38.72.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 63.51%.

Manulife Financial Company 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.