Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Takes $307,000 Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $654,751,000. FIL Ltd increased 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 buying an additional 7,053,066 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 2,377,338 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased 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 buying an additional 2,200,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 1,739,853 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $45.67.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFC traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.21. 1,162,044 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,162,423. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $23.30 and a 1-year high of $33.07. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $30.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.00.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.01). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.3194 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.87%.

Manulife Financial Profile

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.