Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd Purchases New Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 63,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 179.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after buying an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MFC shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $42.54 on Monday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.77 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $42.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

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.