Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Sold by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 12.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 681,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 95,661 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $18,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $473,568,000. FIL Ltd grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 750.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,910,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,990,000 after purchasing an additional 8,745,071 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 57.9% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,444,000 after purchasing an additional 8,548,114 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,074,000 after purchasing an additional 7,766,870 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 103.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,686,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,025,000 after purchasing an additional 7,456,712 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Dbs Bank raised Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 1.8 %

MFC stock opened at $27.06 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.33. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $17.07 and a 12-month high of $27.82. The company has a market cap of $47.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.44%.

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.