The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Position in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC - Free Report) by 76.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 175,064 shares of the company's stock after selling 577,024 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.49% of Premier Financial worth $4,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,983,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,269,000 after purchasing an additional 10,557 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Premier Financial by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,630 shares of the company's stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 1,473 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Premier Financial by 296.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,480 shares of the company's stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,847 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Premier Financial by 2.8% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 70,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,929 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 61.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 211,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 80,217 shares in the last quarter. 66.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Premier Financial Stock Up 3.1 %

NASDAQ PFC traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 129,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,668. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $25.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Premier Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $18.63 and a twelve month high of $29.63.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.04). Premier Financial had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $112.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Premier Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Premier Financial news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total value of $55,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,011,309.12. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.22% of the company's stock.

Premier Financial Profile

Premier Financial Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides various banking services. It offers demand, checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposits and certificates of deposit account registry service; and investment products. The company also provides residential and commercial real estate, commercial, construction, home improvement and home equity, installment, and consumer loans.