Grace & White Inc. NY Has $14.95 Million Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Grace & White Inc. NY lowered its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 412,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,652 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial comprises 2.7% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $14,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 14,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 4.3% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 10,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 9.0% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 0.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 53,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.4%

MFC opened at $38.64 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $28.13 and a 1-year high of $39.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.49 and a 200-day moving average of $35.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.The company had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.96%.

Manulife Financial Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.