SG Americas Securities LLC Decreases Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 43.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,726 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MFC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,317,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,843,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606,480 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 38,181,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,388,259,000 after buying an additional 542,834 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,550,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,041,431,000 after acquiring an additional 728,643 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth $777,229,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,885,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $616,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,145,099 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MFC shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Manulife Financial stock opened at $41.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.36 and its 200 day moving average is $37.33. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $29.70 and a twelve month high of $41.43.

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

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

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.