Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Sold by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP lessened its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 39.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,602 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $956,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 58,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 48,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 69,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MFC stock opened at $30.77 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.92. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $22.61 and a 52 week high of $33.07. The company has a market cap of $53.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.09.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The business had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.3094 per share. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 58.45%.

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.