Candriam S.C.A. Decreases Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 20.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 570,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 145,439 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $19,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sfam LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.34. The stock had a trading volume of 775,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,522,835. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.51. The stock has a market cap of $68.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $29.70 and a 52 week high of $41.74.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.75%.

Manulife Financial Company 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.