Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Sold by Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC

Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lessened its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 706 shares during the period. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 16.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,426,000 after acquiring an additional 279,418 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 148.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 73,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after acquiring an additional 43,877 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 1,210.7% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,161,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072,474 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,592,000 after acquiring an additional 75,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at $13,318,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $30.84 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.15. Manulife Financial Co. has a one year low of $21.24 and a one year high of $33.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.09.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.296 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 59.42%.

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.