Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 144,593 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 18,222 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 18.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 23,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $37.20 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $38.72. The firm has a market cap of $62.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.83.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 5.2%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MFC. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

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.