Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 34,072 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,775,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,072 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.10% of Manulife Financial worth $55,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,213,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 168,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 21,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 59,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,829,000 after purchasing an additional 3,688 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.47. 1,730,544 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,176,071. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $23.30 and a 1-year high of $33.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $31.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.51. The firm has a market cap of $52.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.99.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a $0.3194 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is 66.49%.

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.