Amundi Has $193.71 Million Stock Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Amundi lessened its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,307,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 439,610 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $193,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 16.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,426,000 after purchasing an additional 279,418 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 148.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 73,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,382,000 after buying an additional 43,877 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in 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 valued at $2,719,000 after buying an additional 11,509 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,318,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,809,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,578,000 after acquiring an additional 81,799 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MFC opened at $29.23 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $33.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.15.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. The company had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.3094 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.45%.

About Manulife Financial

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.