Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Purchases 59,300 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas increased its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 28.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 265,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,300 shares during the quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas’ holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $9,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Blueline Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $40.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.43 and a 200-day moving average of $36.81. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $29.70 and a one year high of $40.86. The company has a market cap of $68.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has an average 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.