The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 3,196,152 Shares of Enbridge Inc $ENB

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in Enbridge Inc by 16.6%, owning approximately 0.7% of Enbridge's stock after selling 3.2 million shares in the first quarter.
• Enbridge announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.6839 per share, resulting in a 5.7% dividend yield, despite having a payout ratio of 134.98%.
• Analysts have generally rated Enbridge stock positively, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.50.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB - Free Report) TSE: ENB by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,032,657 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 3,196,152 shares during the quarter. Enbridge accounts for approximately 0.7% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.74% of Enbridge worth $713,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Enbridge by 39.7% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,525,987 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $421,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707,068 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its stake in Enbridge by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,860 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in Enbridge by 2,239.2% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 4,232 shares in the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Enbridge by 2.6% in the first quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,637 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in Enbridge by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 20,241 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $897,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Enbridge Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ENB traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,610,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,999,563. The company has a market cap of $105.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.00 and a 200 day moving average of $45.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. Enbridge Inc has a 1 year low of $39.65 and a 1 year high of $48.59.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 10.11%.The firm had revenue of $7.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Enbridge Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.6839 dividend. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. This is a boost from Enbridge's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Enbridge's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 134.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Enbridge in a report on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Enbridge from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Argus upped their price objective on Enbridge from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Enbridge from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.50.

Enbridge Company Profile

Enbridge Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company. The company operates through five segments: Liquids Pipelines, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Gas Distribution and Storage, Renewable Power Generation, and Energy Services. The Liquids Pipelines segment operates pipelines and related terminals to transport various grades of crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons in Canada and the United States.