Truist Financial Corp Lowers Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 72,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,897 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Eastern Bank boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 156.1% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.9%

MFC stock opened at $38.08 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.50. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $25.92 and a 52-week high of $38.72. The stock has a market cap of $63.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.81%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

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.