Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 490,471 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,268,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 490,471 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $213,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $777,229,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Manulife Financial by 183.7% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,969,000 after buying an additional 7,577,711 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after buying an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. Man Group plc raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 194.9% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 6,205,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,597,000 after buying an additional 4,101,390 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,975.2% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,045,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after buying an additional 3,850,547 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MFC stock opened at $44.45 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.70 and a 12-month high of $45.33. The company has a market capitalization of $73.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.71.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 51.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial 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.