Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Reduces Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA cut its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 16.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 361,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 72,531 shares during the quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $12,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sfam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Blueline Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MFC opened at $41.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $68.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.32. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $29.70 and a 52 week high of $41.43.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.75%.

About Manulife Financial

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.