Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lowered its position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 39.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 92,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 61,484 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,806,508,000 after acquiring an additional 727,764 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,720,693 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,057,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $640,411,000 after acquiring an additional 750,422 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 19,723,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $525,042,000 after acquiring an additional 5,036,716 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MFC shares. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC opened at $32.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.17. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $18.56 and a 1-year high of $32.94. The stock has a market cap of $57.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 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 previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.296 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.04%.

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.