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

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 317,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,586 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $13,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at $26,000. First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.75.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC stock opened at $45.59 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $31.91 and a 52 week high of $45.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.48 and its 200 day moving average is $41.43. The firm has a market cap of $75.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of C$0.48 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.49%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into a diversified provider of insurance, wealth and asset management, and retirement solutions. Its common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MFC.

Manulife offers life, health, and property and casualty insurance, along with retirement products, investment solutions, financial advice, and institutional asset management services.