Synovus Financial Corp Sells 13,665 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Synovus Financial Corp lessened its position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 12.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 93,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,665 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at $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 Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $36.66 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.92. The firm has a market cap of $61.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $25.92 and a 1 year high of $38.72.

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

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 63.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. One research 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, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

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.