Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lowered its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 67,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,004 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hoge Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 31,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 14,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 10,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Manulife Financial stock opened at $39.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $66.86 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.87. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $29.70 and a 52 week high of $40.31.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.96%.

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.