Ritholtz Wealth Management Lowers Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lessened its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 188,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,241 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $5,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,216,880,000 after acquiring an additional 7,053,066 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,803,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,068,654,000 after purchasing an additional 228,863 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $755,367,000 after purchasing an additional 230,105 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Manulife Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,812,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $699,948,000 after purchasing an additional 902,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $654,751,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 target price on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.67.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFC traded up $0.39 during trading on Monday, hitting $31.57. 270,345 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,130,891. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.01. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $23.30 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.73 and a 200-day moving average of $30.52.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.01). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.3194 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.49%.

Manulife Financial Company 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.