Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Makes New Investment in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 428,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,378,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Canerector Inc. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 27.0% in the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Finally, Sfam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $42.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.90. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $29.77 and a 12 month high of $45.33.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.36%.

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.