Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 614,311 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 97.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 614,311 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MFC. 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. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth $777,229,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its holdings in 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 worth $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 25.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,822,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $866,649,000 after acquiring an additional 5,671,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 13,155.3% during the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 4,229,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,743,000 after acquiring an additional 4,197,592 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $40.25 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $38.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.76. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $29.70 and a 1 year high of $40.47. The company has a market capitalization of $67.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.