Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Manulife Financial stake by 12.8% in the first quarter, selling 555,655 shares and retaining 3.77 million shares valued at approximately $129.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 52.56% of MFC.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50, despite Zacks Research downgrading the stock to “strong sell.”
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 7.3% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, representing a 4.4% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 12.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,772,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 555,655 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.23% of Manulife Financial worth $129,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,317,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,843,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606,480 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 38,181,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,388,259,000 after purchasing an additional 542,834 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,550,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,041,431,000 after purchasing an additional 728,643 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $777,229,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,885,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $616,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145,099 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research cut shares of Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE MFC opened at $44.58 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $29.70 and a fifty-two week high of $45.33. The stock has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.40 and a 200-day moving average of $38.42.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 9.99%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is 56.75%.

Manulife Financial Company 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.

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