Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Sold by Lincluden Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Lincluden Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in Manulife by 19.3%, selling 166,407 shares and retaining 695,123 shares worth about $25.22 million (Manulife is 2.7% of its portfolio and its 13th-largest holding).
• Institutional investors own 52.56% of Manulife, with several funds recently increasing positions, and analysts hold a consensus "Buy" rating with an average target price of $51.50.
• Manulife increased its quarterly dividend to $0.485 (annualized $1.94), representing a 5.0% yield and a payout ratio of about 63.96%.

Lincluden Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 695,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 166,407 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial accounts for 2.7% of Lincluden Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Lincluden Management Ltd.'s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $25,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,861,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $215,779,000 after purchasing an additional 166,076 shares in the last quarter. OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,021,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,541,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $359,662,000 after purchasing an additional 621,093 shares in the last quarter. Sienna Gestion grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 233.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 556,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,804,000 after purchasing an additional 389,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 642,498 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,207,000 after purchasing an additional 198,208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Manulife Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:MFC opened at $38.56 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $35.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.49. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $29.70 and a 52 week high of $39.22. The company has a market cap of $64.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37 and a beta of 0.82.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.The company had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.96%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.