The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 11.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,291,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 226,590 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $92,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 179.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 18,222 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 18.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC opened at $43.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $30.52 and a 1 year high of $45.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.53.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

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

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canada-based financial services company that provides insurance, wealth management and asset management products to individuals, businesses and institutional clients. Its offerings include life and health insurance, retirement solutions, investment products, group benefits and long-term care coverage.

Manulife serves customers primarily in Canada, the United States and Asia. In the United States, its insurance and retirement businesses operate under the John Hancock brand.