Triasima Portfolio Management inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lowered its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 94.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 203,117 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,440,795,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,226 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 25,155,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $803,975,000 after buying an additional 730,187 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $632,238,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 19.4% during 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 buying an additional 2,276,251 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.0% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,015,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $384,409,000 after buying an additional 567,834 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on MFC shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Cibc Captl Mkts upgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. One 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, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC stock opened at $36.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.90. The stock has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $25.92 and a one year high of $37.71.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 26th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.56%.

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.