Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Acquired by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,370 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,216,880,000 after buying an additional 7,053,066 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,803,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,068,654,000 after buying an additional 228,863 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $654,751,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,334,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $347,757,000 after buying an additional 190,738 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,291,000 after buying an additional 2,377,338 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MFC. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $32.01. 1,685,257 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,167,202. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $23.30 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The company has a market cap of $54.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $30.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.53.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.01). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.3194 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.87%.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.