Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Position Trimmed by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors reduced its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 14.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,601 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MFC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,333,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,316,162,000 after acquiring an additional 369,638 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.6% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,155,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289,205 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,660,626 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 937,794 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 112,761 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $32.37 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $54.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.18. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp 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 was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.