Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 47.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 405,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 359,800 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $14,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,317,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,843,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606,480 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,638,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,172,922,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079,330 shares during the period. Canerector Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% in the third quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $877,932,000 after purchasing an additional 27,564,000 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 25.6% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,822,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $866,649,000 after purchasing an additional 5,671,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $777,229,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $38.22 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.42. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $29.70 and a twelve month high of $40.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.87.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Profile

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.