Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Purchases New Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,923,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $77,886,000. Manulife Financial accounts for 1.3% of Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned 0.12% of Manulife Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Canerector Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sfam LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC stock opened at $43.18 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.98. The stock has a market cap of $71.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $29.77 and a 1 year high of $45.33.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. 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.