Focus Partners Wealth Sells 9,459 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth has decreased its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp by 1.2%, selling 9,459 shares, and now owns 758,388 shares valued at approximately $23.6 million.
• Manulife Financial reported a quarterly earnings miss with EPS of $0.69, which was below the consensus estimate of $0.71, while also announcing a modest dividend increase yielding 4% annually.
• The stock has a current price of $31.80, with a 52-week low of $25.92 and a high of $33.07, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Buy" with a target price of $48.50.

Focus Partners Wealth decreased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 758,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,459 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $23,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,614,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $755,367,000 after acquiring an additional 230,105 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,934,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 17.2% in the first quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,527,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,780,000 after acquiring an additional 370,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,501,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $295,970,000 after acquiring an additional 521,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC stock opened at $31.80 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.63. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.99.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%.The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

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

Manulife Financial Profile

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.

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