Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC Has $818,000 Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC cut its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 37,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,311 shares during the quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,526,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,307,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086,776 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.2% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,138,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,468,000 after acquiring an additional 446,444 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,680,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,240,000 after acquiring an additional 775,135 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,445,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,663,000 after acquiring an additional 119,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 5,793,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,019,000 after acquiring an additional 582,468 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:MFC traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,168,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,751,152. The firm has a market cap of $43.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.93 and a 200-day moving average of $21.79. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $25.14.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $10.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.42%. Equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.298 dividend. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MFC. Desjardins upgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.33.

Manulife Financial Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.