Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Purchased by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 414,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,200 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $12,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 46,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after buying an additional 9,478 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 2.9% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 496,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,845,000 after acquiring an additional 14,088 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 2.5% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,861,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,779,000 after acquiring an additional 166,076 shares during the period. OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth about $8,021,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 642,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,207,000 after purchasing an additional 198,208 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $35.77 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $25.92 and a 1-year high of $38.72. The stock has a market cap of $59.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.68.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.44% and a net margin of 9.18%.The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.