Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Bought by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 2,001.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 537,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 512,083 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $18,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Canerector Inc. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 27.0% in the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares in the last quarter. Sfam LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the first quarter valued at $29,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of MFC opened at $43.93 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.70 and a 12-month high of $44.68. The stock has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.11.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

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.