Amundi Cuts Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Amundi cut its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,307,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 439,610 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 0.36% of Manulife Financial worth $193,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,426,000 after purchasing an additional 279,418 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 148.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 73,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,382,000 after buying an additional 43,877 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 88,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,719,000 after buying an additional 11,509 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,318,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,809,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,578,000 after buying an additional 81,799 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Manulife Financial Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Manulife Financial stock traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $28.51. 1,694,029 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,981,106. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $33.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.16.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The business had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.3094 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.34%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MFC shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial 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.