Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by Hollencrest Capital Management

Key Points

• Hollencrest Capital Management cut its Manulife Financial stake by 69.8% in the second quarter, selling 28,468 shares and retaining 12,318 shares valued at approximately $499,000. Institutional investors collectively own 52.56% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average target price of $59.00, despite Zacks Research downgrading the stock to “Strong Sell.”
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue increased 7.3% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, implying a 4.5% annual yield.

Hollencrest Capital Management reduced its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 69.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,468 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MFC. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,550,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,041,431,000 after purchasing an additional 728,643 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $777,229,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,885,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $616,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Manulife Financial by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,808,765 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $623,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,490 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $42.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.84. The company's fifty day moving average price is $42.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.08. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $30.20 and a 1 year high of $45.33.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is currently 51.49%.

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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