Rep. Josh Gottheimer Purchases Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) recently bought shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC). In a filing disclosed on November 06th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Manulife Financial stock on October 15th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY – SELECT UMA ACCOUNT # 1” account.

Representative Josh Gottheimer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Texas Capital Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBI) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ITT (NYSE:ITT) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) on 10/31/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES) on 10/31/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Techtronic Industries (OTCMKTS:TTNDY) on 10/29/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Techtronic Industries (OTCMKTS:TTNDY) on 10/28/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Disco (OTCMKTS:DSCSY) on 10/28/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Enerpac Tool Group (NYSE:EPAC) on 10/25/2024.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 450,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,531,530. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $18.42 and a twelve month high of $32.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.96. The stock has a market cap of $56.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.296 per share. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 795.2% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 217,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,439,000 after purchasing an additional 193,343 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 1,210.7% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,161,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,922,000 after buying an additional 1,072,474 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2,913.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 86,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 83,741 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,592,000 after acquiring an additional 75,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,806,508,000 after purchasing an additional 727,764 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MFC. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Dbs Bank upgraded Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

About Representative Gottheimer

Josh Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2017. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2024 election. Gottheimer was first elected to the House in 2016. Prior to his election, Gottheimer worked for Microsoft, the Federal Communications Commission, and for the administration of President Bill Clinton (D). Click here for more information about Gottheimer’s career. Gottheimer serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where is a member of three subcommittees. For more on Gottheimer’s committee assignments, click here. Gottheimer became a co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus in February 2017. Gottheimer attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He became a Thouron Fellow at Oxford and attended Harvard Law School. Gottheimer worked as a speech writer under former President Bill Clinton (D), assisting with two State of the Union addresses, among other projects. Before running for Congress, he worked for Microsoft as a general manager for corporate strategy.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.