WCG Wealth Advisors LLC Has $3.64 Million Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 105.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,477 shares during the quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $3,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,885,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $616,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,145,099 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,400,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,065,000 after buying an additional 2,618,035 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, One Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $655,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.9%

Manulife Financial stock opened at $38.50 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.55. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $29.70 and a 12 month high of $40.40. The company has a market cap of $64.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MFC. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

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.