Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Shares Sold by Schechter Investment Advisors LLC

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 15.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 9.2% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 14,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 187.9% during the first quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 104,525 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 47.8% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 172,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,380,000 after acquiring an additional 55,881 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 33.3% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,088,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,701,000 after acquiring an additional 30,994 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:MFC opened at $30.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $52.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.99. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $23.30 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.51.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.3194 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, May 19th.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.