22,320 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Bought by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired 22,320 shares of Manulife Financial Corp, totaling approximately $695,000, marking the fund's new position in the company.
• Manulife Financial reported a $0.69 EPS for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $0.71, and had a revenue of $11.30 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3199 per share, representing a 4.2% yield, with an ex-dividend date of August 20th.

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 22,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $695,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 386,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,054,000 after buying an additional 6,880 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 99,073 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,087,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 1,943 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 706.0% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 97,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,024,000 after buying an additional 85,037 shares during the period. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 118.7% during the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 23,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 12,701 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,038,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,193,705. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $30.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.64. The firm has a market cap of $54.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.99. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MFC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.50.

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.