State of Wyoming Sells 16,090 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

State of Wyoming lessened its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 60.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,090 shares during the period. State of Wyoming’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC stock opened at $43.64 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $72.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $29.70 and a one year high of $43.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.96.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research lowered Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Company 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.