Twin Tree Management LP Reduces Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Twin Tree Management LP has reduced its stake in Manulife Financial Corp by 31.9%, selling 31,715 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 67,638 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million.
• Manulife Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3199 per share, an increase from the previous dividend, representing an annualized yield of 4.2%.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $48.50, while it reported $0.69 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing estimates.

Twin Tree Management LP lowered its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 31.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,715 shares during the quarter. Twin Tree Management LP's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MFC. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings 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 worth $1,155,639,000 after buying an additional 2,289,205 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 30.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,653,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $300,860,000 after buying an additional 2,226,152 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 871.5% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,023,966 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,057,000 after buying an additional 1,815,642 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 7.3% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,425,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $760,853,000 after buying an additional 1,660,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the first quarter worth $43,445,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.66. 1,728,628 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,427,823. The company has a market capitalization of $52.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.99. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $25.92 and a 52-week high of $33.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.61.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp 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 Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.3199 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.50.

Manulife Financial 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.