294,123 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Bought by Nykredit A S

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S acquired 294,123 Manulife Financial shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $11.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 52.56% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with an overall “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $59.00; RBC recently raised its target to $67.00.
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, slightly above estimates, while revenue increased 7.3% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, representing a 4.4% annualized yield.

Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 294,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,925,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Manulife Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.1%

MFC stock opened at $44.31 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.85. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $30.52 and a 12 month high of $45.33. The company has a market cap of $73.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.

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