Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 141,255 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 47.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 437,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 141,255 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $13,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MFC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 179.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 18,222 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 18.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,757,000 after buying an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 11,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC opened at $35.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.98 and a 200 day moving average of $34.06. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $38.72.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.51%.

Manulife Financial 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.