Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Sold by Grace & White Inc. NY

Grace & White Inc. NY decreased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 431,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. Manulife Financial accounts for 2.3% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $12,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,806,508,000 after purchasing an additional 727,764 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 14.8% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $749,435,000 after buying an additional 3,720,693 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.2% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,057,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $640,411,000 after purchasing an additional 750,422 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 34.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 19,723,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $525,042,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036,716 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,592,000 after purchasing an additional 75,244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $30.04 on Tuesday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $30.86. The company has a market capitalization of $53.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.44.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.86%.

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.