86,063 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Acquired by Vise Technologies Inc.

Key Points

• Vise Technologies acquired 86,063 Manulife Financial shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.49 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 52.56% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $59 price target, despite Zacks Research issuing a “Strong Sell” downgrade.
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 7.3% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, representing a 4.6% annualized yield.

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 86,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,486,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $777,229,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 183.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $402,969,000 after purchasing an additional 7,577,711 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its position 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 valued at $204,544,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. Man Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 194.9% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 6,205,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $225,597,000 after buying an additional 4,101,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,975.2% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,045,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $147,312,000 after buying an additional 3,850,547 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $42.54 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $42.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.90. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.77 and a 12-month high of $45.33. The firm has a market cap of $70.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 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 company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.36%.

Manulife Financial Company 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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