Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc lessened its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 20.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,879 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth $27,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth $38,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $37.20 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $38.72. The company has a market capitalization of $62.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial 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.