Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $263.05 Million Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Manulife Financial Corp by 134.3%, acquiring an additional 4,840,963 shares, bringing its total ownership to 8,444,479 shares valued at approximately $263 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Buy" for Manulife Financial, with an average target price of $48.50.
• Manulife Financial recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.3199 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.1%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 134.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,444,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,840,963 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Manulife Financial worth $263,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 179.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 18,222 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 7.4% during the first quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the first quarter worth $2,472,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 37.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 11,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 3,011 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MFC traded up $0.13 on Monday, hitting $32.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 187,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,289,272. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $30.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.63. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.99.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $0.3199 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MFC. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.50.

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.