Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 33,646 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 165,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 33,646 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $5,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MFC. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter worth about $956,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 12.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 58,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 69,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 40.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 29.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 343,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,325,000 after buying an additional 77,864 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC stock opened at $31.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.96. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $22.61 and a 52-week high of $33.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.09.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.3094 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.45%.

Manulife Financial Company 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.