Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,274 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 741,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,919,000 after purchasing an additional 278,307 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1,067.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 686,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,080,000 after purchasing an additional 627,614 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 13,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 22,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 5,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 54,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,661,000 after purchasing an additional 5,369 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE MFC opened at $31.64 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $23.30 and a 52 week high of $33.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.50. The firm has a market cap of $54.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.00.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly 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). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.3194 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 63.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.50.

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.