Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Trims Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,342,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 157,374 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $133,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,526,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,307,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086,776 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Manulife Financial by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $823,074,000 after purchasing an additional 7,766,870 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $473,568,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Manulife Financial by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,710,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $459,108,000 after purchasing an additional 6,663,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 12,840,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,277,000 after purchasing an additional 169,335 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MFC shares. National Bank Financial raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE MFC traded up $0.49 on Wednesday, hitting $26.92. 370,295 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,002,552. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.52 and a 200 day moving average of $23.90. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $17.07 and a twelve month high of $26.97. The company has a market capitalization of $48.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.09.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.28%. The firm had revenue of $9.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.85 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.44%.

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.