BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 589,106 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp cut its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 571,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 589,106 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $16,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 386.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 144,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,620,000 after purchasing an additional 115,053 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 90.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 99,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 47,303 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 2,160.9% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 6,526 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 44.0% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $32.13 on Friday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $19.23 and a 52 week high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $56.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.92.

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, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.296 dividend. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MFC. Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

About Manulife Financial

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.