Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Holdings Trimmed by Pictet Asset Management SA

Pictet Asset Management SA decreased its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC – Get Rating) (TSE:MFC) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 961,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,951 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $18,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 13,615,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,881,000 after purchasing an additional 415,275 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 12,213,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,904,000 after purchasing an additional 49,144 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,737,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,254,000 after purchasing an additional 926,746 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 11,387,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $219,104,000 after purchasing an additional 471,632 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,000,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,805,000 after purchasing an additional 778,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.04% of the company’s stock.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MFC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Manulife Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 13th. Barclays initiated coverage on Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Desjardins downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.50.

Shares of MFC stock opened at $17.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.84, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.97. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $16.63 and a twelve month high of $22.19.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 25th will be issued a $0.257 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 24th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.96%.

Manulife Financial Profile (Get Rating)

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, 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 provides mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, group retirement and savings products, and institutional asset management services through agents and brokers affiliated with the company, securities brokerage firms, and financial advisors pension plan consultants and banks.

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