Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Makes New $1.96 Million Investment in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 48,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,959,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth about $25,000. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Canerector Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 170,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $42.82 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.08. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $30.20 and a 52 week high of $45.33. The stock has a market cap of $71.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note 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 reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Profile

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.