Foster & Motley Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Foster & Motley Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 311,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,008 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $9,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 134.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,444,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,840,963 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 6.6% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,155,639,000 after buying an additional 2,289,205 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Manulife Financial by 30.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,653,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $300,860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226,152 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 871.5% in the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,023,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,642 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,425,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $760,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,626 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $31.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $53.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.98. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $25.92 and a 52-week high of $33.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.87.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

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.