Todd Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Todd Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,241,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 150,730 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $45,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MFC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 18,222 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MFC shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.1%

MFC stock opened at $38.56 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.25. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.70 and a 12-month high of $40.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.87.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced 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 company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.35%.

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.