25,609 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 25,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $882,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MFC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 179.7% during 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 period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% in 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 buying an additional 5,699,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 17.6% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 23,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 3,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $44.25 on Tuesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $29.70 and a one year high of $45.33. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $42.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) 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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is 51.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MFC shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $59.00.

Manulife Financial 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.

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