Pitcairn Co. Sells 18,546 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Pitcairn Co. reduced its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,546 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,711,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,390,023,000 after acquiring an additional 374,615 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 2,079,330 shares during the period. Canerector Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% in the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $877,932,000 after purchasing an additional 27,564,000 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 25,155,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $803,975,000 after purchasing an additional 730,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth $632,238,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $33.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.24. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $25.92 and a 52-week high of $38.72. The company has a market cap of $56.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 63.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the subject 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 note 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. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

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.