Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,914,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 322,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $153,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. American Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MFC. 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. Weiss Ratings cut Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $33.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.32.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 63.96%.

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.