SG Americas Securities LLC Reduces Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 46.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,808 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MFC. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,861,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,779,000 after acquiring an additional 166,076 shares in the last quarter. OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,021,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 5.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,541,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,662,000 after purchasing an additional 621,093 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 233.6% during the third quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 556,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,804,000 after purchasing an additional 389,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 44.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 642,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,207,000 after purchasing an additional 198,208 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a 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 report on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $35.20 on Tuesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $25.92 and a 1-year high of $38.72. The stock has a market cap of $58.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.78.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced 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 business had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.96%.

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.