Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Cuts Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 97.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,544,566 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $3,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $654,751,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 21,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 2,733 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 2,675,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,130,000 after buying an additional 1,096,933 shares during the period. Finally, Summitry LLC increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 16,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:MFC traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $29.14. 183,333 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,439,677. The company has a market cap of $50.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $33.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.46.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.3094 dividend. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is 58.45%.

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.