American Century Companies Inc. Has $25.54 Million Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) by 17.6% in Q1, now holding 819,503 shares worth approximately $25.5 million.
• Manulife recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3199, a slight increase from the previous dividend, with a current annualized dividend yield of 4.2%.
• Analysts have set the consensus price target for Manulife Financial at $48.50, with the Royal Bank of Canada forecasting a decrease in their target from $51.00 to $49.00.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 17.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 819,503 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 174,647 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $25,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the first quarter valued at $43,000. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 178,700.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the first quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.40. The company had a trading volume of 717,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,328,462. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $25.92 and a 1-year high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $51.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.57.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $0.3199 dividend. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.50.

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.