Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 927,689 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 75.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 294,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 927,689 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $9,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $632,238,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,544,000 after buying an additional 5,699,999 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $453,798,000 after buying an additional 2,276,251 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,336,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,440,795,000 after buying an additional 2,003,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $63,255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:MFC opened at $36.98 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $38.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $36.96 and its 200 day moving average is $33.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.83.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.The business had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.31%.

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.