PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. Decreases Stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC)

Key Points

• PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp by 9.4% in Q1, owning 131,951 shares valued at $4.11 million after selling 13,730 shares.
• Manulife Financial reported a Q2 EPS of $0.69, missing estimates, with revenue of $11.3 billion and facing a stock price decline of 3.7% recently.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.3199, maintaining a dividend yield of 4.3%, reflecting a strong financial commitment despite recent challenges.

PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 131,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,730 shares during the period. Manulife Financial makes up about 1.6% of PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,333,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,316,162,000 after buying an additional 369,638 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 6.6% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,155,639,000 after buying an additional 2,289,205 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.9% during 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 buying an additional 230,105 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,812,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $699,948,000 after buying an additional 902,466 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 7.2% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 13,990,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $436,007,000 after buying an additional 937,794 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.11. 3,369,849 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,921,994. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.55. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $24.77 and a 12 month high of $33.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.01.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors 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 yield of 4.3%. 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 67.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, May 19th.

About Manulife Financial

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.