Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Cuts Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,353,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,580 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $49,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 269.2% during the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 208.8% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. American Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.7%

MFC opened at $38.55 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.51 and its 200-day moving average is $35.22. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $28.13 and a 52-week high of $39.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37 and a beta of 0.82.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. 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. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.96%.

Manulife Financial 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.