Grace & White Inc. NY Sells 16,652 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Grace & White Inc. NY decreased its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 412,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,652 shares during the period. Manulife Financial comprises 2.7% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $14,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Canerector Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% in the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $877,932,000 after purchasing an additional 27,564,000 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,822,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $866,649,000 after purchasing an additional 5,671,639 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 13,155.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 4,229,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,743,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197,592 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,638,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,172,922,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $38.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.07. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $28.13 and a 52 week high of $39.02. The company has a market capitalization of $64.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 0.82.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.96%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.