Korea Investment CORP Purchases New Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Korea Investment Corp acquired 1.71 million Manulife Financial shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $69.2 million and representing about 0.10% of the company.
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, slightly above the $0.78 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 7.3% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, implying a 4.6% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $59 price target versus the stock’s $42.54 market price; however, one firm downgraded the shares to “Strong Sell.”

Korea Investment CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,707,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $69,212,000. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.10% of Manulife Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Sfam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:MFC opened at $42.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.48 and a 200-day moving average of $38.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $29.77 and a 52 week high of $45.33.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The business's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.

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