Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by Integrated Advisors Network LLC

Key Points

• Integrated Advisors Network LLC cut its Manulife Financial stake by 79% in the first quarter, selling 56,665 shares and leaving it with 15,020 shares valued at about $517,000.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial, with 52.56% of Manulife Financial shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds; several firms increased their positions during recent quarters.
• Analysts are generally positive on the stock, with a consensus Buy rating and a $51.50 price target, while Manulife also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, implying a 4.7% yield.

Integrated Advisors Network LLC cut its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 79.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 56,665 shares during the quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in 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 last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 179.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 18,222 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 18.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,757,000 after buying an additional 8,900 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $41.46 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.70 and a 1-year high of $41.73. The business's fifty day moving average price is $39.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.48. The company has a market capitalization of $69.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

About Manulife Financial

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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