Bank of Nova Scotia Takes $594.83 Million Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 14.67 million Manulife Financial shares valued at approximately $594.8 million, making MFC 0.9% of its portfolio and representing about 0.88% of Manulife’s outstanding shares.
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, narrowly exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 7.3% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, equivalent to a 4.6% annualized yield.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $59, compared with the stock’s reported price of $42.54.

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,667,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $594,832,000. Manulife Financial comprises 0.9% of Bank of Nova Scotia's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.88% of Manulife Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,317,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,843,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606,480 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 38,181,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,388,259,000 after buying an additional 542,834 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,550,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,041,431,000 after buying an additional 728,643 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $777,229,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,885,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $616,479,000 after buying an additional 2,145,099 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $42.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $29.77 and a fifty-two week high of $45.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.90.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MFC. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source