Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 1,271,491 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Manulife by 19.7%, buying 1,271,491 shares in the quarter to hold 7,738,077 shares worth about $241 million.
• Manulife increased its quarterly dividend to $0.485 (annualized $1.94), up from $0.44, implying a roughly 5.8% yield with an ex-dividend date of Feb 25 and payment on Mar 19.
• Wall Street has a consensus "Buy" rating with an average price target of $51.50 while MFC trades around $33.65 (PE 15.16), and the company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates at $0.80.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,738,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,271,491 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.46% of Manulife Financial worth $241,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Canerector Inc. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% during the third quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $877,932,000 after purchasing an additional 27,564,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $632,238,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $204,544,000 after buying an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,008,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $453,798,000 after buying an additional 2,276,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,638,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,172,922,000 after buying an additional 2,079,330 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Manulife Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 2.2%

MFC stock opened at $33.65 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $25.92 and a 1-year high of $38.72. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $36.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.The business had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is 63.96%.

About Manulife Financial

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.

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