Waverly Advisors LLC Makes New $409,000 Investment in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 13,302 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $409,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FIL Ltd increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,216,880,000 after buying an additional 7,053,066 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,803,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,068,654,000 after buying an additional 228,863 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,812,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $699,948,000 after buying an additional 902,466 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $654,751,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,334,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $347,757,000 after buying an additional 190,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.67.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.88. 328,348 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,134,552. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $30.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.57. The company has a market cap of $54.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.00. Manulife Financial Co. has a one year low of $23.30 and a one year high of $33.07.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.3194 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.