Synovus Financial Corp Sells 796 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Synovus Financial Corp lowered its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 796 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,426,000 after acquiring an additional 279,418 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $330,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 88,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 11,509 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,291,000 after buying an additional 2,377,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 13,638 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $28.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.43. Manulife Financial Co. has a one year low of $22.81 and a one year high of $33.07. The stock has a market cap of $49.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.3094 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. 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.