Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 24,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 415 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 22.2% during the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 77.2% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 6,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 4.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 1.7% during the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MFC. TD Securities lifted their target price on Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. 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. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

MFC stock opened at $29.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $52.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $17.07 and a twelve month high of $30.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.53.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.05%.

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.