TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Sells 53,231 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,031,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 53,231 shares during the period. Manulife Financial accounts for 1.7% of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. owned 0.41% of Manulife Financial worth $215,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $654,751,000. FIL Ltd increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,216,880,000 after acquiring an additional 7,053,066 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377,338 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,427,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $227,895,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 216.0% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,545,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739,853 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,078,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,233,948. The company has a market cap of $52.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89. Manulife Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07. The business's 50-day moving average price is $29.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.41.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. Analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.3094 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is 58.45%.

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.