33,151 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Acquired by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 33,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,016,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,709,000 after acquiring an additional 363,963 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,092.1% in the 4th quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 51,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after acquiring an additional 47,301 shares during the period. Canerector Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Manulife Financial by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,645,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Manulife Financial by 183.7% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,969,000 after purchasing an additional 7,577,711 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:MFC opened at $43.18 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.77 and a 12-month high of $45.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.98. The firm has a market cap of $71.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.84.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

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.