The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 98,357 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,065,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 98,357 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $71,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 18,222 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 18.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings cut Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research lowered Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.84.

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). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.