Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Sold by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC reduced its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 47,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,603 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 694.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,984,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,482,367 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 45.7% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,932,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,085,000 after buying an additional 1,233,358 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,526,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,307,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086,776 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 21.5% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,005,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,508,000 after acquiring an additional 885,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,680,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,240,000 after acquiring an additional 775,135 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Desjardins upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC stock opened at $23.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day moving average of $21.52. Manulife Financial Co. has a one year low of $17.07 and a one year high of $25.14.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm had revenue of $10.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.298 per share. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.