The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes $92.76 Million Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,291,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $92,762,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $43.18 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.77 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.98.

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

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Company 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.