First Trust Advisors LP Has $10.75 Million Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 349,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,256 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $10,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,426,000 after buying an additional 279,418 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $330,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 88,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,719,000 after buying an additional 11,509 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,291,000 after buying an additional 2,377,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 13,638 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MFC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC opened at $30.49 on Tuesday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $23.27 and a 52 week high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $52.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.42.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The business had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.3094 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 58.45%.

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.