DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Raises Stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,088,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,994 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.12% of Manulife Financial worth $63,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $330,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 13,638 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $16,213,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,614,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $755,367,000 after acquiring an additional 230,105 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $30.78. The stock had a trading volume of 618,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,169,405. The company has a market cap of $52.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average price is $31.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.51. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $23.30 and a 52 week high of $33.07.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a $0.3194 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is currently 67.02%.

Manulife Financial Company 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.