Bessemer Group Inc. Trims Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 149,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,948 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $4,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $632,238,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $204,544,000 after buying an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 19.4% in 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. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $2,440,795,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003,226 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $63,255,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MFC shares. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of MFC stock opened at $38.08 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $25.92 and a 12-month high of $38.72. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.52. The company has a market cap of $63.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.81%.The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 26th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

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.