Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 347 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $4,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $263,046,000 after buying an additional 4,840,963 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,155,639,000 after buying an additional 2,289,205 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 30.0% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 2,226,152 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 871.5% in the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,023,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,057,000 after buying an additional 1,815,642 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $760,853,000 after buying an additional 1,660,626 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $32.90 on Tuesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $25.92 and a one year high of $33.07. The company has a market cap of $55.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.05.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%.The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.3199 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group started coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 target price on Manulife Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.