O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Has $33.21 Million Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 914,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,966 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned 0.05% of Manulife Financial worth $33,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Syon Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 20,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $10,984,000. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 121,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 8,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 91,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,326,000 after acquiring an additional 8,592 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MFC opened at $38.94 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.62. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $29.70 and a 12 month high of $40.40. The company has a market capitalization of $64.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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