American Century Companies Inc. Has $30.54 Million Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 994,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,948 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Manulife Financial worth $30,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,063,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $829,374,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329,892 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,334,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,757,000 after acquiring an additional 190,738 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 8.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,273,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,473,000 after acquiring an additional 616,517 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 4,896,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,333,000 after purchasing an additional 236,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 279,418 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $30.77 on Friday. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $53.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.40.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.3094 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MFC. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $45.50.

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.