TD Asset Management Inc Cuts Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

TD Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 31,322,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,423,499 shares during the period. Manulife Financial comprises about 1.1% of TD Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,269,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $777,229,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 183.7% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,969,000 after buying an additional 7,577,711 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $204,544,000 after buying an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 194.9% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 6,205,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,597,000 after buying an additional 4,101,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,975.2% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,045,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,312,000 after buying an additional 3,850,547 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MFC. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC opened at $44.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $29.70 and a 1 year high of $45.33. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.71.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Manulife Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

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.