Blue Trust Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 41.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,498 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 18.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 173,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,122,000 after purchasing an additional 6,455 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 3.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 30,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $242,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 292.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 345,833 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,219,000 after purchasing an additional 257,688 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock traded down $1.46 on Friday, hitting $30.36. 2,557,574 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,066,261. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.09. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 16.15%. On average, analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.3094 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.42%.

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.