Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,869,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,152,135 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.63% of Manulife Financial worth $333,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, CKW Financial Group purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MFC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Remove Ads

Manulife Financial Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MFC traded up $0.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.04. 4,106,230 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,244,397. Manulife Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.61 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.46. The firm has a market cap of $48.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.3094 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.45%.

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.