Apollon Wealth Management LLC Purchases 8,925 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 91.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,925 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MFC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $654,751,000. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,216,880,000 after acquiring an additional 7,053,066 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,291,000 after acquiring an additional 2,377,338 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,427,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $227,895,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 216.0% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,545,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739,853 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,156,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,180,182. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $31.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.51. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $23.30 and a twelve month high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $52.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.99.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.3194 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is presently 67.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, May 19th.

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.