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

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,088,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying 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 reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $330,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 28.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 13,638 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $16,213,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,614,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $755,367,000 after purchasing an additional 230,105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE MFC opened at $30.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.99. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $23.30 and a 52-week high of $33.07. The business's 50-day moving average price is $31.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.51.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released 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). The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 15.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.3194 per share. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.02%.

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.

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