Rep. Josh Gottheimer Sells Off Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) recently sold shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC). In a filing disclosed on November 06th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Manulife Financial stock on October 4th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY – SELECT UMA ACCOUNT # 1” account.

Representative Josh Gottheimer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Texas Capital Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBI) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ITT (NYSE:ITT) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) on 10/31/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES) on 10/31/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Techtronic Industries (OTCMKTS:TTNDY) on 10/29/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Techtronic Industries (OTCMKTS:TTNDY) on 10/28/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Disco (OTCMKTS:DSCSY) on 10/28/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Enerpac Tool Group (NYSE:EPAC) on 10/25/2024.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 3.2 %

MFC opened at $32.29 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.96. The stock has a market cap of $56.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $18.05 and a 12 month high of $32.94.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.95 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.296 dividend. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 67.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Duality Advisers LP increased its position in Manulife Financial by 795.2% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 217,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,439,000 after purchasing an additional 193,343 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,210.7% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,161,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,922,000 after buying an additional 1,072,474 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2,913.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 86,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,163,000 after buying an additional 83,741 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,592,000 after acquiring an additional 75,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,806,508,000 after acquiring an additional 727,764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MFC shares. Dbs Bank upgraded Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

About Representative Gottheimer

Josh Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2017. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2024 election. Gottheimer was first elected to the House in 2016. Prior to his election, Gottheimer worked for Microsoft, the Federal Communications Commission, and for the administration of President Bill Clinton (D). Click here for more information about Gottheimer’s career. Gottheimer serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where is a member of three subcommittees. For more on Gottheimer’s committee assignments, click here. Gottheimer became a co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus in February 2017. Gottheimer attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He became a Thouron Fellow at Oxford and attended Harvard Law School. Gottheimer worked as a speech writer under former President Bill Clinton (D), assisting with two State of the Union addresses, among other projects. Before running for Congress, he worked for Microsoft as a general manager for corporate strategy.

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.