5,687,844 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Bought by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,687,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,451,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.34% of Manulife Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PEAK6 LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at $699,000. Haverford Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $353,000. First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $444,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $594,832,000. Finally, Commerce Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,343,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:MFC opened at $42.54 on Monday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.77 and a 12-month high of $45.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.90. The firm has a market cap of $70.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MFC. Zacks Research downgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

About Manulife Financial

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.