TD Asset Management Inc Trims Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• TD Asset Management cut its Manulife Financial stake by 23.1% in the second quarter, selling 9.4 million shares. It still held 31.3 million shares worth approximately $1.27 billion, representing a 1.88% ownership interest.
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 7.3% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485, equating to a 4.4% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $59, compared with a recent share price of $44.45.

TD Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,322,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,423,499 shares during the period. Manulife Financial comprises approximately 1.1% of TD Asset Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 1.88% of Manulife Financial worth $1,269,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $777,229,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Manulife Financial by 183.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $402,969,000 after acquiring an additional 7,577,711 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its position in Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 194.9% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 6,205,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $225,597,000 after acquiring an additional 4,101,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,975.2% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,045,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 3,850,547 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

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

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $59.00.

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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