Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Has $1.99 Million Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc cut its position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,552 shares during the quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in 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 valued at $829,374,000 after acquiring an additional 3,329,892 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.2% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,057,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $640,411,000 after acquiring an additional 750,422 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,592,000 after buying an additional 75,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,273,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,473,000 after acquiring an additional 616,517 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $29.82 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.04. The company has a market capitalization of $51.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.09. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $20.78 and a 12-month high of $33.07.

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

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.296 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 59.42%.

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.