Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group reduced its Manulife Financial position by 8.5% in the second quarter, selling 160,470 shares and retaining 1.72 million shares valued at approximately $69.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 52.56% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Manulife has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $59, despite Zacks Research downgrading the stock to “strong sell.”
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, slightly exceeding expectations, while revenue rose 7.3% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, implying a 4.4% annual yield.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 8.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,722,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 160,470 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.10% of Manulife Financial worth $69,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Canerector Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 27.0% during the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 170,000 shares in the last quarter. Sfam LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the first quarter valued at $29,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $44.45 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $29.70 and a 1 year high of $45.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.71. The company has a market cap of $73.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is presently 53.36%.

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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