Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Sold by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 483 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. FIL Ltd grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 750.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,910,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,990,000 after purchasing an additional 8,745,071 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 57.9% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,444,000 after buying an additional 8,548,114 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,074,000 after buying an additional 7,766,870 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 103.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,686,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,025,000 after buying an additional 7,456,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,710,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,108,000 after acquiring an additional 6,663,997 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $28.26 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.54. Manulife Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.07 and a fifty-two week high of $28.56. The company has a market cap of $50.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Dbs Bank raised Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

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.