Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC)

Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC cut its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth $330,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377,338 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 13,638 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,809,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,578,000 after purchasing an additional 81,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $16,213,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $31.30 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $23.30 and a 52-week high of $33.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.01.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 15.84%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a $0.3194 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.67.

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.