Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 144,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,587 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $3,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 1,086,776 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.2% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,680,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,240,000 after acquiring an additional 775,135 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 119,192 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 5,793,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,019,000 after purchasing an additional 582,468 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MFC traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.24. 1,723,658 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,206,653. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.93 and its 200-day moving average is $21.89. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The business had revenue of $10.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.298 per share. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Desjardins raised Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.33.

About Manulife Financial

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.