DAVENPORT & Co LLC Cuts Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,333 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 11.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 13,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 263.0% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 39,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 28,765 shares during the period. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 8.7% in the third quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $36.61 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $25.92 and a 12-month high of $36.93. The company has a market cap of $61.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.24.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MFC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.