Foster & Motley Inc. Sells 35,679 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Foster & Motley Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 272,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,679 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $9,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 269.2% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. American Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $33.62 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.67. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $25.92 and a 1-year high of $38.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.96%.

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.