jvl associates llc Acquires Shares of 7,106 Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

jvl associates llc purchased a new position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,063,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $829,374,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329,892 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,057,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $640,411,000 after purchasing an additional 750,422 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 19,723,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $525,042,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036,716 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,592,000 after purchasing an additional 75,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 8.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,273,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,473,000 after buying an additional 616,517 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MFC traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.69. 360,793 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 608,600. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $20.78 and a twelve month high of $33.07. The company has a market cap of $53.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.75.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.79%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.296 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 57.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays assumed coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

Manulife Financial 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.