Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 572,271 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,370,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 572,271 shares during the period. Manulife Financial makes up approximately 0.6% of Bank of Nova Scotia’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $391,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 15,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,724 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 42,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 211,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,269,000 after purchasing an additional 11,808 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,175,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,496,000 after purchasing an additional 14,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $2,538,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $43.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.91. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $29.70 and a one year high of $43.56.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 56.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

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.