USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 125,167 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 469,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 125,167 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $14,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $330,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 88,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 11,509 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377,338 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 60.4% during 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 period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 4.7% during 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 buying an additional 81,799 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MFC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MFC stock opened at $31.83 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $23.30 and a twelve month high of $33.07. The company has a market cap of $54.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.56.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3194 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.87%.

About Manulife Financial

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.