Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by LRI Investments LLC

LRI Investments LLC lessened its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 63.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,028 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $75,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,333,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,316,162,000 after buying an additional 369,638 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,155,639,000 after buying an additional 2,289,205 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,425,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $760,853,000 after buying an additional 1,660,626 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 13,990,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,007,000 after buying an additional 937,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,447,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,747,000 after buying an additional 112,761 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MFC. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC opened at $32.10 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.00 and its 200-day moving average is $30.85. The company has a market capitalization of $54.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.98. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.3199 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.70%.

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.