Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Holdings Decreased by MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd

MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 466,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,064 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial accounts for about 2.5% of MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $19,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.5% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 608.0% during the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 32,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 27,581 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 4,754 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 15,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the period. Finally, Viewpoint Investment Partners Corp increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Viewpoint Investment Partners Corp now owns 12,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MFC opened at $44.75 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $31.92 and a 12-month high of $45.68. The company has a market cap of $74.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.89.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. Manulife Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a C$0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 51.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.75.

Manulife Financial Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into a diversified provider of insurance, wealth and asset management, and retirement solutions. Its common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MFC.

Manulife offers life, health, and property and casualty insurance, along with retirement products, investment solutions, financial advice, and institutional asset management services.