Investment Management Corp of Ontario Trims Stock Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lessened its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,500 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $330,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its position in Manulife Financial by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 88,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 11,509 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377,338 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 13,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Manulife Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,809,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,578,000 after purchasing an additional 81,799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MFC shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFC traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.64. The stock had a trading volume of 2,861,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,167,045. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.00. Manulife Financial Co. has a one year low of $23.30 and a one year high of $33.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.50.

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

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3194 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.87%.

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.