JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,011,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 991,605 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.52% of Manulife Financial worth $266,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 34.3% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 19,723,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $525,042,000 after acquiring an additional 5,036,716 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,063,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $829,374,000 after buying an additional 3,329,892 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 288.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,943,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928,316 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,806,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1,210.7% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,161,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072,474 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC stock opened at $30.63 on Tuesday. Manulife Financial Co. has a one year low of $20.78 and a one year high of $33.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.69. The stock has a market cap of $53.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.09.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.296 dividend. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 57.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

Manulife Financial 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.