Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 118,044 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Manulife Financial Corp by 42.1%, selling 118,044 shares, leaving it with 162,480 shares valued at approximately $5.2 million.
• Analysts have recently set a consensus target price for Manulife Financial at $48.00, with varied ratings, including a reaffirmed "buy" from Weiss Ratings and a lowered target from Royal Bank of Canada to $49.00.
• Manulife Financial announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.3199 per share, resulting in a 4.0% yield based on its recent stock performance.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 42.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 118,044 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $5,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $243,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 16,609.6% in the 2nd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,519,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510,314 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,527,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,780,000 after purchasing an additional 370,570 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,501,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $295,970,000 after purchasing an additional 521,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $431,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MFC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $31.93 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $30.95 and its 200 day moving average is $30.85. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.98.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a $0.3199 dividend. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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